Hank Greenberg on Battling AIG

I’d run AIG for almost 40 years when I was forced to step down as CEO in 2005. We had more than $100 billion in revenue, and I’d devoted most of my life to building this company. At first, I agreed to stay on as nonexecutive chairman. But after I left for a previously scheduled trip to Asia, I realized I couldn’t. I was in the middle of a war with an Attorney General who wanted to be governor and used that office to go after a number of targets, including me. I had a board that no longer supported me. Some of them stood up to Eliot Spitzer, others caved. I got in touch with my lawyer, David Boies, to send a letter announcing my intention to retire.

I hadn’t decided what to do next. I’ve never been interested in retirement. I get three hours of sleep a night, anyway, and I still had other responsibilities. AIG was just one of the businesses I managed when we took it public in 1969. I was chairman of C.V. Starr, which had four specialized insurance agencies. I was also in charge of Starr International, a private company with a stake in AIG that was probably worth about $20 billion. AIG never owned Starr International, though it tried to claim it did after I left. There were directors with selective amnesia who ignored the history. I had to spend seven and a half consecutive days on a witness stand to defend our ownership of that company. We won.