Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Net Worth

What was Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's Net Worth?

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was the final Shah of Iran, leading the country from 1941 until he was deposed in the Iranian Revolution in early 1979. At the time of his death in 1980, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's personal net worth was estimated at $2 billion, equivalent to around $7.2 billion in today's dollars.

Over nearly four decades in power, the Shah quietly built one of the most astonishing personal fortunes of any head of state in the 20th century. His wealth stemmed from a vast network of holdings in nearly every major sector of Iran's economy, income streams from the country's immense oil reserves, and opaque financial vehicles like the Pahlavi Foundation. By the time he fled Iran, the Shah and his extended family were estimated to have transferred $4 billion in wealth abroad, with the Shah directly controlling at least $1 billion, mostly held in Swiss bank accounts. Some independent estimates placed the total size of the Pahlavi family fortune at $20 billion or more.

During his reign, Iran underwent rapid industrial and military modernization and experienced sweeping social, economic, and political reforms. Due to mounting civil unrest over the Shah's authoritarian rule, including the massacre of protestors by his military, he and the Iranian monarchy were overthrown and ultimately abolished in 1979.

Oil Income

As the ruler of a nation rich in petroleum, the Shah benefited enormously from oil revenues, both officially and unofficially. The state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) was a key source of this wealth. In one notable example from 1962, NIOC paid $12 million in dividends into an account controlled by the Shah in just a single month. Adjusted for inflation, that would be worth $117 million today—and that was one month's take, from one income stream.

Observers at the time noted suspicious discrepancies in Iran's oil accounting. For several years in the 1970s, as much as $2 billion annually appeared to be missing from official foreign exchange receipts. It was widely speculated that this money was quietly diverted into personal or foundation-controlled accounts, although the full picture was never confirmed, as the oil revenue books were kept secret. Still, many believed the Shah personally benefited from enormous, unreported oil income, funneled through opaque state and foundation channels.

In addition to this unofficial wealth, the Shah also received a direct annual budget from the government that reportedly reached hundreds of millions of dollars per year, separate from the national treasury. Effectively, he granted himself a personal share of the oil boom.

The Shah of Iran's Personal Wealth

By the late 1970s, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi controlled a personal empire that stretched across every major industry in Iran—and well beyond its borders. Dissidents and journalists compiled lists of his direct holdings, many of which were quietly held through the Pahlavi Foundation, a nonprofit entity that described itself as charitable but functioned more like a royal holding company.

A partial accounting of the Shah's known business interests includes majority or significant stakes in:

• 17 banks, including Bank Omran, Iran's fifth-largest financial institution
• 80% of Iran's largest insurance company, along with a major stake in a second insurer
• 25 metal manufacturing companies
• 8 mining operations
• 25% of Iran's largest cement company
• 45 construction companies
• 43 food production and processing companies
• 70% of all hotel rooms in Iran, by one estimate, through ownership of virtually every major hotel in the country
• 10% of General Motors Iran, which assembled Cadillacs and other American vehicles domestically
• 25% of a German steel firm called Knipp
• Ownership of several real estate properties abroad, including a major office tower at 650 Fifth Avenue in New York City

Most of these assets were nominally controlled by the Pahlavi Foundation, which refused to disclose the value of its holdings or income. In 1979, when a Foundation official was asked directly to estimate the value of its assets, he famously replied, "What is money?"

The Shah also reportedly held major stakes in Daimler-Benz, influencing development of the Mercedes G-Class, and maintained business interests across Europe and the United States. His real estate portfolio stretched from London to the French Riviera and Manhattan.

While the Shah defended this wealth as necessary to maintain the monarchy and fund charitable work, the opacity and scale of his holdings attracted growing scrutiny in the 1970s. Amid growing income inequality and political unrest, many Iranians viewed his fortune as evidence of unchecked greed and corruption, especially in contrast to the widespread poverty outside the capital.

Early Life and Education

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was born on October 26, 1919, in Tehran, Qajar Iran, to Reza Khan and his second wife Tâdj ol-Molouk. His father went on to become Reza Shah Pahlavi, the first Shah of the House of Pahlavi of the Imperial State of Iran. Mohammad Reza was the third of his 11 children; he had a twin sister named Ashraf. Growing up, he was negatively impacted by his father's authoritarian ways, and often criticized him behind his back. Mohammad Reza had healthier influences in his mother and sisters, who gave him the emotional support he lacked from his father. Unfortunately, he was eventually taken away from them to be given an education by military officers his father had handpicked. Mohammad Reza subsequently went to the Swiss boarding school Institut Le Rosey, where he played football and learned French. Returning to Iran, he was enrolled at a military academy in Tehran.

Ascension to the Throne

During World War II in 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union; this caused tensions with Iran, which had so far been neutral in the conflict. Later in the year, when British and Soviet forces invaded Iran, Reza Shah was deposed, and the Iranian military collapsed. Consequently, Mohammad Reza replaced his father as the next Shah. He had notably low self-esteem early in his reign, and spent the majority of his time writing French poetry with his friend Ernest Perron. Meanwhile, he communicated via letters with his father, who was now in exile.

Reign as Shah in the 50s and 60s

In the early 50s, the British-owned oil industry became nationalized by the new Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh. However, not long after this, a military coup d'état launched by the US and the UK deposed Mosaddegh, leading to the reinstallment of the Shah. Through the subsequent Consortium Agreement of 1954, foreign oil firms were brought back, and the Shah went on to become a major figure in OPEC. His influence prompted a massive surge in oil prices that substantially hobbled economies in the West.

Following the 1953 coup, Mohammad Reza became intent on proving himself an indomitable leader who could restore Iran to its former glory. This ultimately led to the introduction of the White Revolution in 1963, a series of far-ranging social, economic, and political reforms aimed at making Iran into a major global power. Mohammad Reza wished to significantly modernize the country by nationalizing key industries and land redistribution. He made massive investments in infrastructure, provided land grants and subsidies to peasant populations, introduced profit sharing for industrial laborers, oversaw the construction of nuclear facilities, and launched successful literacy programs. Additionally, Mohammad Reza issued tariffs and preferential loans to Iranian businesses, creating a new industrialist class that contributed to the manufacturing of automobiles, appliances, and other goods.

Via Getty Images

Reign as Shah in the 70s

Due to his many sweeping reforms, Iran experienced sustained economic growth that transformed it into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world in the 70s. With billions spent on industry, healthcare, education, and the military, the country surpassed the US, the UK, and France in economic growth rates, with national income rising 423 times over. Moreover, Iran grew into the fifth-strongest military in the world by 1977. For Mohammad Reza, this meant an end to foreign intervention in the country.

Iranian Revolution and Deposition

Despite his political achievements, civil unrest began mounting in Iran in the late 70s. Disorder was further exacerbated by the Jaleh Square massacre, in which Mohammad Reza's military slaughtered and wounded dozens of protestors, and the Cinema Rex fire, in which arsonists killed hundreds. Amidst the Revolution in early 1979, Mohammad Reza and the Iranian monarchy were overthrown, and Reza went into exile. Not long after this, the Iranian monarchy was formally abolished, and the new Islamic Republic of Iran was led by Ayatollah Khomeini.

Personal Life

In 1939, Mohammad Reza married his first wife, Princess Fawzia of Egypt; a marriage of political convenience, it was intended to foster a strong bond between Iran and Egypt. The couple had a daughter named Shahnaz before divorcing in 1948 after years of unhappiness and Mohammad's serial infidelity. Mohammad Reza wed his second wife, Soraya Esfandiary-Bakhtiary, in 1951. The two were unhappy together and divorced in 1958. The year after that, Mohammad Reza married Farah Diba, with whom he was with until his passing. They had four children together: Reza, Farahnaz, Ali, and Leila.

Death

Mohammad Reza was diagnosed with lymphocytic leukemia in 1974, although this was not disclosed to him until 1978. After living in exile in various places in early 1979 and visiting many different countries for treatment, he ended up in Cairo, Egypt. While undergoing a splenectomy there, Mohammad Reza suffered an injury to his pancreas; this resulted in an infection that led to his death on July 27, 1980.

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