Feisty Exec Straddles Two Financial Crises

Greenberg's clout evident in AIG ouster, bailout of Lehman
By Wesley Oliver,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 17, 2008 7:50 PM CDT
Feisty Exec Straddles Two Financial Crises
Martin J. Sullivan, the former CEO of AIG who was ousted last weekend, was once a protégé of Hank Greenberg.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, file)

At age 83, Hank Greenberg is on anything but a quiet path to retirement. The legendary exec is smack in the middle of two of the biggest financial stories of the day—the upheaval at insurance giant AIG and the struggle to salvage Lehman Brothers. Portfolio looks at Greenberg's reversal of fortune since his resignation from AIG in 2005 after 4 decades.

At the time of his departure, Greenberg was under the scrutiny of then-AG Eliot Spitzer. But Greenberg retained some control in AIG and played a central role in last week's ouster of protege-turned-nemesis Martin Sullivan. AIG's new chief executive has reached out to Greenberg, so far unsuccessfully. Meanwhile, in another sign of his enduring financial clout, Greenberg's C.V. Starr firm is leading the Lehman Brothers bailout. (More AIG stories.)

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