Ex-CEO of AIG Now Wants $25 Billion for His Bailout Troubles

Reuters
Alexander Abad-Santos 2,250 Views Nov 21, 2011

American International Group's former CEO, Maurice "Hank" Greenberg isn't happy with the biggest bailout in American history and government takeover of AIG--he now wants $25 billion for his troubles. Greenberg has filed a lawsuit stating that the government bailout and takeover of AIG was an unconstitutional seizure of private property, reported the Wall Street Journal.  But it sounds more like Greenberg thinks he, as MSNBC puts it, "got a raw deal" out of the $182 billion bailout (and its after-effects) that the government instituted before an impending AIG collapse. They note:

Those funds allowed AIG to pay off counterparties like Goldman Sachs in full and reward executives with $165 million in bonuses in 2008, even though AIG lost $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter of that year. This situation raised considerable ire among both the public and investors. AIG's own value plummeted and it was reduced to selling off assets to pay back the government, both moves of which hurt Greenberg's stake in the firm.

 

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