Pentagon spends $50 billion in five days

Lobster, steaks and fruit baskets

Pentagon spends more in five days than Israel’s military spends in a year

A new analysis accuses the US Department of Defense of massive spending shortly before the end of the fiscal year – apparently the symptom of a controversial rule.

According to research, the US Department of Defense under Minister Pete Hegseth spent around 93.4 billion US dollars on grants and contracts in September 2025 – the equivalent of around 86 billion euros. The expenditure therefore only includes money transferred to entities outside the government, but does not include salaries for members of the armed forces and numerous other expenses.

According to the newly published analysis by the transparency organization Open the Books, some of the money went into unusual purchases: millions of dollars were spent on lobsters and king crabs, expensive office furniture, hundreds of tablets – and even a nearly $100,000 Steinway piano for the home of the US Air Force chief of staff.

The expenses themselves are already several months ago. The case is only now making headlines because the organization has subsequently evaluated the state financial data and has now published its analysis.

According to the authors, the timing of the payments is particularly striking: in the last five working days of September alone, the Pentagon spent around 50.1 billion US dollars – around 46 billion euros. This is more than the entire annual defense budget of countries like Israel or Italy.

According to the analysis, a rule of US budget law may be behind the spending surge: the “use it or lose it” principle. According to this, authorities must spend their allocated funds by the end of the fiscal year, which ends on September 30th in the USA. Unused funds are forfeited – and can have a negative impact on future budgets.

That is why government procurement traditionally increases sharply in the last weeks of the budget year. According to the report, management consultants even compare the last day of the fiscal year with an “Amazon Prime Day” – a big shopping event – ​​for government contracts.

Part of the Ministry of Defense’s expenditure during this period was on food for military installations. According to the report, in September the Pentagon ordered $6.9 million in lobster tails, $2 million in Alaskan king crabs, $15.1 million in rib-eye steaks and about $1 million in salmon. There was also $139,224 for donuts, about $124,000 for ice cream machines and $26,000 for sushi prep tables.

Office equipment also had an impact. The Ministry of Defense spent $225.6 million on furniture in September, the equivalent of a good 200 million euros. According to the analysis, these included high-priced office chairs and three-story fruit basket stands for around $12,540.

After all: According to the report, spending on furniture was significantly lower than under President Obama. The military regularly spent $300 to $400 million in September. However, they have increased compared to the Joe Biden administration.

The Pentagon invested another $5.9 billion in information technology and telecommunications. This includes $3.5 billion for services such as technical support or cable television as well as millions for devices from major technology companies, including Apple products worth $5.3 million and Samsung devices worth around $4 million.