Economist says post-2003 Iraq created a new wealthy class in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraqi economist Ra’d al-Masoudi said the political and economic transformation in Iraq after 2003 produced a new class of wealthy individuals, particularly in Baghdad and other major cities. In remarks to a Baghdad-affiliated outlet, he described how a previously limited group of established trading, contracting and business families gave way to a different elite. Al-Masoudi said reconstruction contracts after 2003 enabled some businessmen to move from difficult circumstances into large fortunes, with their wealth eventually channeled into investments worth millions of dollars. A separate group, he added, accumulated assets through connections with influential political circles, contracts on major projects and firms tied to political power, becoming an active part of the economic landscape in recent years. The economist said the largest fortunes, in his assessment, were built by groups linked to financial corruption cases, and that significant sums accumulated in recent years had been transferred abroad or redirected into investments, making them difficult to track or recover. Al-Masoudi also noted that traditional merchant families who shaped the pre-2003 economy had seen their influence decline sharply, unable to compete with new capital inflated by state contracts and large projects.