Financial and Real Estate Ventures
After the Iranian Revolution, Reza Pahlavi’s finances became a tangled web of assets, investments, and properties spread across multiple countries. The vast wealth left behind by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was stored in banks such as Creditbank in Switzerland, and the family owned property in places as diverse as Anguilla, an American oil company, and a construction firm in Fairfax, Virginia.
In the mid-1980s, Ansari played a key role in managing these assets. He was instrumental in securing a nine-acre plot of land in Great Falls, Virginia, where a palace was constructed for Reza Pahlavi in exile. The $3.2 million mansion became the central hub for the Pahlavi family and their close circle of exiled monarchists. This luxurious estate was not just a residence; it became a political center where Reza Pahlavi, alongside Ansari, conducted meetings, planned political strategies, and mediated disputes within the exiled Iranian community.
Ansari’s famous quote to Reza Pahlavi, “If you cannot have a political empire, I will give you an economic empire,” illustrates the depth of his involvement in the financial management of the Pahlavi fortune. Together, they engaged in a variety of investments and business ventures. Ansari helped oversee oil company purchases, real estate investments, and commodity futures contracts, all in the hopes of establishing a powerful economic foundation that could support Reza Pahlavi’s eventual return to power.