Fallen Giant

Ronald Kent Shelp was the author of Fallen Giant: The Amazing Story of Hank Greenberg and the History of AIG. Shelp worked for Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, CEO of American International Group, for 12 years, ultimately serving as worldwide head of government relations. Fallen Giant is a 2006 non-fiction book that tracks AIG from its first business transaction in China in 1919, through its growth into a global financial services powerhouse, to Greenberg's exit in 2005 after accusations of fraud by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer. The contributions of C.V. Starr, AIG's founder, and Greenberg, who led the company for 37 years, are chronicled in the book. It was updated several times during the 2008 financial crisis, when the US government seized control of AIG by lending the company $85 billion in exchange for a 79.9% equity stake, making the American taxpayer AIG’s largest shareholder. Fallen Giant was translated and published in China, Taiwan, and Korea.