A Brief History of AIG
American International Group, Inc. was founded in 1919 in Shanghai, China by Cornelius Vander Starr. Mr. Starr was the first westerner in Shanghai to sell insurance to the Chinese. The firm was successful and expanded it’s operations to other countries in Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East. In 1962 AIG gave control of the unsuccessful US operations to Maurice Greenberg who changed the company’s focus from personal insurance to high margin corporate coverage.
A Shady Past
By 2005 AIG was the subject of a number of fraud investigations by the US Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the New York Attorney General’s office. The investigations resulted in the ousting of Mr. Greenberg, a $1.6 billion dollar fine, and several executives faced criminal charges. After several CEO’s were forced to step down Edward M. Liddy became CEO on September 17, 2008.
