The AIG Story (eBook)

MAURICE R. GREENBERG is Chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. He joined C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. as Vice President in 1960 and was given the additional responsibilities of President of American Home Assurance Company in 1962. He was elected Director of C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. in 1965, Chairman and CEO in 1968 and continues in that role. Mr. Greenberg retired as Chairman and CEO of American International Group, Inc. (AIG) in March 2005, after serving as Chief Executive Officer from 1967. Under his leadership, AIG became the largest insurance company in the world and generated unprecedented value for AIG shareholders. During the nearly forty years of his leadership, AIG's market value grew from $300 million to $l80 billion. LAWRENCE A. CUNNINGHAM is the Henry St. George Tucker III Research Professor at the George Washington University Law School and Director of GW's Center for Law, Economics and Finance (C-LEAF) in New York. Previous books include Contracts in the Real World: Stories of Popular Contracts and Why They Matter (Cambridge University Press 2012). His writings--on a wide range of business and legal topics--have also appeared in leading scholarly journals and such periodicals as the New York Times, the Financial Times, and the New York Daily News.

Chairman's Note xi

Preface xiii

Acknowledgments xxi

Part One

Chapter 1 Independence 3

Chapter 2 Innovation 19

Chapter 3 Succession 31

Chapter 4 Vision and Culture 43

Chapter 5 The Internationalist 53

Chapter 6 Raising the Iron Curtain 63

Chapter 7 Opening Trade in Services 79

Chapter 8 Reopening China 95

Chapter 9 The Life Business 111

Chapter 10 The Domestic Front 125

Chapter 11 Investments 139

Chapter 12 Governance 149

Part Two

Interlude 167

Chapter 13 Hostile Change 171

Chapter 14 Restating History 189

Chapter 15 Civil War 203

Chapter 16 Saving the Starr Foundation 213

Chapter 17 Chaos 223

Chapter 18 Nationalization 243

Epilogue 261

Notes 265

About the Companion Web Site 309

About the Authors 311

Index 313

"Summing Up: Recommended. General readers; all
levels of undergraduate students; professionals."
(Choice, 1 August 2013)

"Did the U.S. government break the law when it seized control of
American International Group during the financial crisis of 2008?
In 'The AIG Story,' the man who built the giant insurer says that
the answer is yes and explains his reasoning. Former AIG chief
executive Maurice R. 'Hank' Greenberg--along with his
co-author, Lawrence A. Cunningham--also offers a fascinating
company history and an account of how, after Mr. Greenberg's ouster
in 2005, AIG made the disastrous mortgage bets that drove it into
the arms of the feds." (The Wall Street Journal)

"[A] strong, fast-moving and well-crafted book...In effect,
there are two stories here, both well told: the first, the story of
a man who dreamed the American dream and realized it through drive,
determination, and adherence to principle; and the second, the
story of what seems to be an evolving model, with government
officials, always for political reasons, exercising what
increasingly approaches operational control over American business.
It's to the great credit of Greenberg that he's never
accepted the validity of the second and has devoted his life and
great energies to keeping the first alive and well." (The
National Interest)

"The early chapters of 'The AIG Story' trace the acquisition of
its U.S. units and international expansion, and offer interesting
anecdotes. The book also paints a clear picture of the
hard-driving, profit-centered corporate culture Mr. Greenberg
famously fostered at AIG." (Business Insurance)

"The AIG Story is well documented, telling of how the company
virtually collapsed and Greenberg was pushed out of leadership. The
book has much information to share with financial leaders to help
grow a business and to protect the identity of a company during
periods of economic downturns."--ABA Banking Journal

"The only first-hand account of AIG's rise and near destruction,
this book is a compelling chronicle of one of the great business
success stories of the twentieth century as well as a history of
the evolution of global capitalism over the past six
decades."--Continuity Risk & Insurance