How so many Iranians obtained rich in Los Angeles

In Iran, persons are struggling to afford meat and eggs — hundreds of miles away in Los Angeles, many from the identical nation are constructing actual property empires.

In early 2026, the Islamic Republic of Iran killed hundreds of protesting residents who took to the streets out of monetary desperation. 

“In case you can’t afford your hire, if you happen to can’t pay for meals, then you don’t have anything to lose,” says Sarmen Gorjian, an insurance coverage company proprietor, who immigrated to the US from Iran in 2010. 

Watching from hundreds of miles away in Los Angeles, California is the most important group of Iranians exterior Iran. They’re additionally referred to as probably the most prosperous and profitable immigrant communities in the USA, with the nickname Tehrangeles. 

“Particularly in Los Angeles, a variety of Persians share that — It doesn’t matter if you happen to’re a physician, a lawyer, a dentist, you most likely personal 4 or 5 properties as properly. And you’ve got two underneath building,” says Shervin Roohparvar, an actual property developer who additionally starred on actuality TV sequence “Shahs of Sundown.” 

Sarcastically, Tehrangeles grew out of the identical revolution in 1979 — that helped set the stage for the monetary struggles of Iranians in Iran immediately, in addition to the struggle rocking Iran and the broader Center East immediately. That revolution set in movement two very totally different realities on reverse sides of the world. 

The Iranian group in LA largely began from refugees fleeing regime change within the ’70s and ’80s, who prevented the devastating forex collapse and inflation that ultimately adopted. Many misplaced practically all the things within the transition. 

They rebuilt in Los Angeles, someplace that felt… type of acquainted. 

“I believe no less than the Tehran that I bear in mind was not very totally different from Los Angeles on the time. It was a very vibrant metropolis. You had folks from everywhere in the world there on a regular basis,” stated Bobby Samini, a celeb lawyer who has represented the likes of T-Ache and former Clippers proprietor Donald Sterling. 

“So I believe they virtually would have been parallel cities. They might have been sister cities if issues had been totally different.” 

In the present day, about one quarter of Beverly Hills residents are Iranian, together with its mayor Sharona Nazarian, who left Iran’s capital Tehran as a baby throughout the revolution. 

A lot of Rodeo Drive was developed by the Mahboubi household, who moved to LA from Iran within the Seventies. 

The exiled crown prince’s daughter Princess Noor now lives right here. 

There are even actuality TV exhibits, like “Shahs of Sundown” and “The Valley: Persian Model” riffing off the repute of Iranians in LA as rich and glamorous. 

However it’s not simply LA. Within the US, Iranians are higher off than common. Iranian immigrants report median earnings that’s about 23% extra than the full immigrant inhabitants, and about 20% greater than all US-born People.

Watch the video to learn how so many Iranian refugees obtained wealthy in Los Angeles, and the way the identical second in historical past despatched tens of millions of Iranians down paths that look drastically totally different immediately.

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