War profiteer

A war profiteer is an individual or organization that earns excessive or unethical financial gain or profit from warfare, typically by selling weapons, supplies, or services through inflated pricing, fraudulent contracting, substandard goods, or exploitative practices. The term carries strong negative moral connotations and is associated with taking advantage of wartime urgency and reduced oversight.

Major pentagon contractors such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE Systems, and General Dynamics have been cited as modern examples due to large profits and extensive lobbying. Private contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan earned billions through logistics, security, and reconstruction, with documented cases of overbilling and waste.