Turning terror into gold
The top 10 ways to cash in on Sept. 11. By Cassi Feldman

WAR HAS ALWAYS meant big business for certain industries. Congress barely batted an eyelash when President George W. Bush proposed a $369 billion defense budget for 2003, much of which will go straight into the pockets of four major weapons manufacturers: Boeing, Lockheed Martin, TRW, and Raytheon. But they're not the only ones making out like bandits since last September's attacks. Here are some little guys who seem to have found their niche:

Great escapes When America runs for the hills, it likes to bring along television sets and microwave ovens. Hence the unbridled success of the recreational vehicle. R.V. rentals and sales are up dramatically from last year according to Joe Laing, director of marketing for El Monte R.V., a company with four locations in the Bay Area.

For the more upscale consumer, the New York Times recently reported that ResidenSea is selling condos aboard the World, a giant cruise ship, for $2 million to $7 million each.

Making the video Back in the days of the Gulf War, Americans were content to turn on CNN and see Stormin' Norman expound on the virtues of the stealth bomber. Not anymore. Now people want the real thing – bloody, uncut, and unedited. CNN paid a source $30,000 for 64 al-Qaeda training tapes. And amateur videographers here and abroad have raked in thousands just for being in the right place at the wrong time.

Up in arms While the government stockpiles Seasparrow missiles and Super Hornet aircraft, most Americans are sticking with the basics: rifles and handguns. Background checks for gun sales in October 2001 were up 21 percent from October 2000, according to the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

A whole bunch of gunslingers – 18,549 to be exact – attended the 24th annual Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas, which added up to big sales. "This is the best SHOT Show I can remember," Ron Coburn, CEO of Savage Arms, said in a press release for the event.

Army green G.I. Joe is one of those plain-and-simple toys you might think today's kids would have no time for. But thanks to Sept. 11, thousands of children are once again embracing the military. According to the NPD Group, a market research firm, action-figure sales were up 36 percent by the end of 2001 over 2000.

Lights, camera, cash-in The Sum of All Fears, which pitted Ben Affleck against neo-Nazi terrorists, cleaned up at the box office this summer, taking in a whopping $118,471,320 as of Sept. 2. Collateral Damage, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a vengeful firefighter, didn't do quite as well (22 percent of reviewers on one movie Web site ranked it among the worst films ever), but certainly there's more gore to come. Rumor has it Sylvester Stallone even has plans to bring back Rambo to kick some terrorist ass.

Peeping for profit If only we were all just a little more paranoid, a tad more sneaky, we could have thwarted Osama bin Laden and his band of evildoers. Several Bay Area companies are cashing in on that theory by developing new and better ways to secretly record conversations and identify people by their eyeballs.

Engineers at UC Berkeley recently got a $2.5 million contract from the U.S. Navy and the Department of Defense to develop a spying robofly by 2004.

Going once, going twice OK, so maybe Ebay got in a bit of trouble for letting folks auction off World Trade Center office keys and audio recordings of the attack. Many are still busy peddling their Sept. 11 newspapers and, of course, anything with a flag. Our current favorite items include the Wal-Mart crying smiley-face pin and the angry Uncle Sam poster. Just remember, the holidays are right around the corner ...

Mind games Many Americans are still struggling to make sense of what happened and looking for a little professional help to do it. How else could Chicken Soup for the Soul of America: Stories to Heal the Heart of Our Nation have become a best-seller? Shrinks of all kinds are cashing in as the government offers counseling for thousands of New Yorkers who are now even more neurotic than usual.

Pills and thrills There was a moment during last October's anthrax scare when even the most stoic among us decided it might not be a bad idea to keep some Cipro in the medicine cabinet. Bayer, which makes the drug, donated 2 million tablets to the government and offered 100 million more at only 95¢ apiece – but continues to charge pharmacies and hospitals more than $4 a tablet.

Not surprisingly, recreational drugs also did pretty well last year. The 2001 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse found that America is now home to 16 million illegal drug users, and marijuana, ecstasy, and cocaine use are all on the rise. Guess some people aren't afraid of a little white powder.

Safety first As many face layoffs and financial despair, one lucky class of workers is set to make a mint. The president's budget pumps $37.7 billion into homeland security, which will create a host of new jobs with agencies such as the Secret Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Transportation Security Administration.

Immigrants need not apply.

E-mail Cassi Feldman at cassi@sfbg.com.