AIG Founder Wielded Personal Influence in Washington

[babylonsister]

AIG Founder Wielded Personal Influence in Washington
Insurance Firm Developed Significant Clout


Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg, the hands-on founder of AIG, met with presidents including Ronald Reagan. (Courtesy Of Maurice Greenberg)

By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 1, 2008; Page A15


In the four decades that Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg was at the helm of American International Group, he persuaded Washington to back him on many deals that helped his insurance company beat competitors and ultimately grow into the 18th-largest corporation in the world.

Greenberg makes no apologies for personally dialing lawmakers and senior White House officials to try to protect AIG's interests, especially when he sought to break into untapped foreign markets. In a rare interview since the company he built imploded and received an $85 billion government bailout, he said that knowing Washington was a critical part of his job as he expanded AIG to operate with $1 trillion in assets and in 130 countries.

"I think a CEO should be directly involved," said Greenberg, who was ousted as chairman in early 2005 but remains a force by owning and controlling the largest single chunk of the company's stock. "When you're growing a company and trying to get into other markets . . . what do you think a CEO should do? Go to the movies?"

Greenberg was the architect of AIG's muscular Washington lobbying effort, which spent $72 million in the past 10 years and led the corporation to be ranked as one of the top 30 lobbying powers in recent history. Aided by the $7 million that the company and its executives poured into presidential and congressional campaigns and the $25 million that Greenberg's charitable foundation gave to powerful anti-regulation trade groups, AIG's clout in Washington soared.

"AIG was the ultimate insider corporation that had a revolving door with Washington, and could grab the attention of any policymaker with the money they spread around Capitol Hill," said Richard Ferlauto, director of corporate governance and pension investment at the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. "It's an incredible amount of money they've used to push back against regulations that were designed to protect the American consumer."

more...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/30/AR2008093002621.html

[burythehatchet]

1. Ironically, it was his ouster that led to AIG's failure. Greenburg

for whom I worked at the AIU unit of AIG, was/is the sharpest insurance mind ever, notwithstanding his being an utter asshole.

[Subdivisions]

2. Because DC is nothing but a nepotist Old Boys' Club! That's

all it is! And we're their goddamned serfs!