Death Dealers: Parasitical Profiting Off of War

By David Starr

As if nothing could get more immoral, disgusting, and criminal, individuals are betting on what the outcomes of wars would be.

This goes hand-in-hand with the moral bankruptcy of the Trump regime. It has allowed– and Trump and his cronies have participated in–the most corrupt and fraudulent actions. Here are three recent examples in June published by representUs: 

June 16, 2026 – “Earlier this spring, the Trump administration gave a no-bid contract to a firm tied to a long-time supporter of the president to clean the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. Since work was completed, the pool has seen green algae blooms that have turned the water green.”

June 16, 2026 – “Records reveal that taxpayer dollars will fund half the costs of the White House ballroom, despite earlier assurances from the president that private donors would pay for the construction.”

June 3, 2026 – “Peter Navarro, the president’s senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, intervened to secure a $620 million Pentagon loan to Vulcan Elements, a small North Carolina startup, about three months after Donald Trump Jr.’s venture capital firm took a stake of undisclosed size.” 

Of course, corruption abounds in the Trump regime with many other examples. But to bet on wars’ outcomes and profit from that is beyond the pale; profiting off the hardship and suffering of the victims.

In a source titled More Perfect Union, there are eight defense officials who are revealed to be profiting off of war. It is a tangled web of corruption and greed between the Pentagon and “defense” contractors.

NPR had a piece titled “The Immorality of betting on War” by op-ed writer Scott Simon. He borrows from a source about greedy gamblers who bet on anything, citing two examples. First, “an account on the prediction market Polymarket with the user name, “Magamyman,” made more than $500,000 by predicting the strike on Iran that killed the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.” Second, “an unnamed trader made hundreds of thousands predicting the ouster of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, just hours before the U.S. raid that captured him.”

Simon continues: “Prediction markets are exchanges where people can place bets on the outcome of almost anything. It could be a Formula One race. But it could also be – and I quote the wording of an offering on Polymarket – ‘Nuclear detonation by…?’”

Simon goes on to write that he has been with refugees from Ethiopia, Kosovo, and Iraq who fled from war, leaving with just their clothes on as soldiers rushed into their towns. Simon adds, “Those families risked their lives to leave, betting on an unknown future.”

Simon concludes, “Prediction market users make their wartime gambits from someplace comfortable and safe, and hope to hit it big off of someone else’s misfortune.”

It would be poetic justice if those parasitically betting on the outcomes of wars had to flee from bombs, missile strikes and soldiers.

Who are the culprits that profit from war? Wikipedia gives some examples. Looking at the U.S. empire, there are several, like Lockheed Martin (over $70 million in total revenue), RTX Corporation (over $80 million), Northrop Grumman (over $41 million), General Dynamics (over $47 million), and Boeing (over $66 million). These, of course, are the more well-known examples.

The definition for a “defense contractor” is “a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military or intelligence department of a government. Products typically include military or civilian aircraft, ships vehicles, weaponry, and electronic systems, while services can include logistics, technical support and training, communications support, and engineering support in cooperation with the government.”

According to the Costs of War Project, “from 2020-2024 $2.4 trillion of the $4.4 trillion (approximately 54%) of the Pentagon’s discretionary spending went to defense contractors. In 2024, the industry saw record revenues.”

So, those who bet on war have a big trough to feed in.

Looking at the Iran war, Bloomberg refers to the betting site, Polymarket, where one account “accumulated a large position in ‘Yes’ contracts on a U.S.-Iran peace deal before news of the tentative agreement surfaced.” Tentative is the word for it as the Trump regime has violated previous agreements by attacking Iran.

“The account – created two hours before its first trade – is linked to a single blockchain wallet. Its position on the ‘US x Iran permanent peace deal by June 2026?’ market paid out about $1.5 million when the contract resolved, generating a net profit of roughly $370,000.”

But, “These kinds of wagers are drawing scrutiny from regulators and politicians. As geopolitical events become tradable assets, major White House decisions create fresh opportunities for anyone with advanced knowledge to profit across multiple markets.” Further, “lawmakers have called for investigations into a series of trades that appeared uncannily prescient.”

Will these calls for investigations become official and will there be follow-through by lawmakers? Given the ideological objectives of both ruling parties, being capitalist, the attempts may be halfhearted at best.

Actually, betting on the outcomes of wars further shows the moral bankruptcy of the United States as an empire. The rule of capital has of course allowed this to happen.