Former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg must be feeling a lot like Colonel Jessep. AIG sued Greenberg for his role in canceling a deferred compensation plan for executives and running away with millions of AIG shares which were then sold over time for close to $4.3 billion. After a testy day on the stand yesterday, AIG’s attorney turned up the heat today looking for Greenberg to admit he ordered the code red and broke his fiduciary duty to the executives.
The heated exchange focused on whether Greenberg was making a formal commitment to the plan participants when he said their stock would remain in trust for “a couple hundred years”
“When I said a couple of hundred years, I’m speaking to a group of people and trying to build their morale,” Greenberg testified today. “It’s a motivating speech. A couple of hundred years is an exaggeration. Anybody who was there would recognize that that was simply a figure of speech and not a commitment.”
When AIG’s attorney, Ted Wells, asked Greenberg if he misled plan participants, Hank was on the verge of telling Wells that he had the luxury of not knowing what he knew and didn’t give a damn what he thought he was entitled to.
“No, of course not,” Greenberg said. “Counselor, a couple of hundred of years — no one would seriously have thought that far in advance. No one company can plan 200 years in advance. No one company can plan five years in advance.”
Wells asked: “So, that was a false statement?”
‘It Wasn’t a False Statement’
“It wasn’t a false statement. I was trying to put a concept together.”
Greenberg Says He ‘Exaggerated’ on Retirement Plan [Bloomberg]
is it 4:00 yet?
With all the time spent in court, they must be having a heck of a time finishing his shots for the new He-Man movie…
No talk about Hussein’s new financial regulatory plan?
yea also no talk of the slide in mortgage applications
we use words like honor, blanus, monsterclops..you use them as a punchline!
@5 – Now that is fucking funny. I applaud you sir.
@3 FTW. You guys make my day with your insightful and original humor.
Thank you.
Bess, can you please post the investor letter from Raptor? thanks
Where is the standard Ace Greenberg picture, the one of him holding the little dog…why change when one has perfection?
@9 perhaps because Bess won’t share. Do we sense tension in the clubhouse?
ANUS!
Taxchick:
CPA’s disallowed from DB comment section. See bylaws for more detail. Thx
What is really alleged here?
I presume it’s not that Hank sold $4.3B of now-nearly-worthless-AIG stock and reinvested the plan money in less shitty investments.
Did Hank actually dissolve a deferred comp plan and run off with the money?
If so, why is AIG suing and not the individual participants?
Did you or did you not order a code red?
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