Photos of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani That You Probably Haven’t Seen Before

Rafsanjani has been described as having been a pragmatic Islamic conservative. The Economist called him a "veteran kingmaker".He supported a free market position domestically, favoring privatization of state-owned industries and a moderate position internationally, seeking to avoid conflict with the United States and the West. He was also founder and one of the Board of Trustees of Azad University. In 2003, Forbes estimated his personal wealth to be in excess of USD$1 billion.