Hank Greenberg Fast Facts

Here is a look at the life of former AIG Chief Executive Officer Hank Greenberg.

Personal

Birth date: May 4, 1925

Birth place: New York, New York

Birth name: Maurice Raymond Greenberg

Father: Jacob Greenberg

Mother: Ada (Rheingold) Greenberg

Marriage: Corinne (Zuckerman) Greenberg

Children: Jeffrey, Evan, Scott and Cathleen

Education: University of Miami, B.A., 1948; New York Law School, LL.B., 1950

Military: US Army, Captain

Other Facts

Recipient of the Bronze Star for his service during the Korean War.

Awarded the Legion of Honor from France.

Chairman of the Board of The Starr Foundation.

Vice chairman of the National Committee on United States-China Relations.

Member of the Board of the US-China Business Council.

Timeline

1952-1960 – Works for Continental Casualty Company.

1960 – Is hired as a vice president for the insurance-holding company C.V. Starr & Co., Inc.

1968 – C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. begins distributing some the firm’s subsidiaries in order to raise capital to establish American International Group, Inc. (AIG). Greenberg becomes the Chairman and CEO of AIG.

1988-1995 – Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

1994-1995 – Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

March 2005 – Greenberg resigns as CEO and Chairman of the Board of AIG.

May 2005 – New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer files a lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court against Greenberg on behalf of the state, charging him with engaging in fraud to exaggerate AIG’s finances.

2005-present – Chairman and CEO of C.V. Starr & Co., Inc. and Starr International Company, Inc.

September 16, 2008 – The Federal Reserve Bank of New York announces an emergency $85 billion loan to AIG to rescue the company, on the condition that the federal government own 79.9% stake in the company. Greenberg is AIG’s largest individual shareholder before the bailout, with 11% ownership in the company.

April 2009 – The loan expands to $184.6 billion. The government eventually owns a 92% stake in the company.

August 2009 – The Securities and Exchange Commission charges Greenberg for his involvement in the fraudulent accounting transactions that inflated AIG’s finances. Without conceding or denying the SEC charges, Greenberg agrees to pay $15 million in penalties, and AIG settles the charges by repaying $700 million plus a fine of $100 million.

November 21, 2011 – Greenberg and his Starr International Company sues the federal government for $25 billion, claiming the 2008 takeover was unconstitutional. Starr International also sues the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in federal district court in Manhattan.

November 2012 – Greenberg and Starr International’s lawsuit against the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is dismissed. The ruling is upheld in appeals court in January 2014.

January 2013 – Greenberg’s book, “The AIG Story,” is released.

May 2013 – Greenberg’s lawsuit against the federal government achieves class action status. Three hundred thousand stockholders, including AIG employees and retirees, would share the reward if they win the lawsuit.

June 25, 2013 – A New York appeals court rules that the 2005 fraud lawsuit, filed by Spitzer, against Greenberg, will not be dismissed.

July 2013 – Greenberg files a lawsuit against Spitzer in New York’s Putnam County Supreme Court, alleging defamation related to statements he made between 2004 and 2012.

June 25, 2014 – After granting a request by Spitzer to dismiss most of his statements, a judge rules that Greenberg’s defamation lawsuit against him will go to trial.

October 6, 2014 – Greenberg and Starr International’s class action lawsuit against the government officially begins in the Court of Federal Claims in Washington, DC. Closing arguments take place on April 22, 2015.

June 15, 2015 – Starr International wins its lawsuit against the federal government “due to the Government’s illegal exaction,” but the court awards no monetary damages.

February 10, 2017 – Greenberg and the New York attorney general’s office reach a settlement in the 2005 civil fraud lawsuit. Greenberg agrees to pay $9 million, and former AIG Chief Financial Officer Howard Smith agrees to pay $900,000.

September 13, 2017 – The Supreme Court of New York Appellate Division denies summary judgment for several of Greenberg’s defamation charges against Spitzer.

November 12, 2020 – A judge in New York’s Putnam County Supreme Court rules to dismiss Greenberg’s defamation case against Spitzer.