Akbar Ladjevardian اكبر لاجورديان

Akbar Ladjevardian was an Iranian industrialist. Born in 1923 in Kashan, Iran, he lost his mother when he was twelve and was raised by his father, who taught him the principles of hard work, frugality, perseverance, and family values.

He began his career in commodity trading and eventually, together with his brother and nephews, built the Behshahr Industrial Group, which expanded into various sectors to become the largest private employer in Iran prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Akbar also ventured into producing oil-derived products by the name of the Polyacryl Iran Corporation, which was the most significant private investment project in the Middle East at the time.

Akbar’s business in Iran ended abruptly when the Islamic revolutionary regime nationalized all his and his family’s assets in 1979 without any compensation.  After an an assassination attempt on his nephew and business partner, Akbar fled Iran on horseback through the mountains to Turkey. He finally settled in the United States, where he started new, highly successful businesses together with his family.

He died in Houston, Texas in 2023.