the $25 billion lawsuit claims the federal government has deprived shareholders of tens of billions of dollars and violated the fifth amendment. it says the government took too large a share in aig and charged excessive interest rates. basically, they think they paid the federal government too much money, and now they want it back. the man who filed the lawsuit is former aig ceo hank greenberg, who resigned in 2005 during a scandal. he is still a major shareholder in aig. he started the lawsuit with his own group of investors and is now pursuing aig to join in. aig is meeting with greenberg tomorrow to decide if they will join in on the suit. it would be ridiculous for them to join in considering that they are doing just fine. because since 2008, the government loan, aig has posted a profit of over $26 billion. and on top of the money, aig has been touting its great relationship with the government. with this advertising blitz,
been touting its great relationship with the government. with this advertising blitz, they re actually thanking the american people for saving them. aig, we said we were going to turn it around, and we did. leading insurance company based right here in america. we have repaid every dollar america lent to us. everything, plus a profit of more than 22 billion. for the mesh people. thank you, america. aig played a major role in taking our country into the great recession. the taxpayers saved aig. the ripple effect would have been unbelievable. and now for aig to think about suing the federal government is beyond disgraceful. for more, let s turn to my friend bill cohen. he is the columnist for bloomberg view and author of money and power. okay. let s play a word game. you match what i say, appalling, outrageous. the year is only eight days old, but this is the largest corporate pr blunder of the year so far, without question.
find thousands of big deals now. .at officemax. and in the big finish tonight, we have a truly shocking story of corporate greed. let s go back to late 2008. the insurance giant aig was on the verge of financial collapse because of its role in the financial crisis. if they went down, the ripple effect would have had devastating consequences on the economy. so the federal government stepped in and offered aig a $182 billion loan, bailout. they accepted the offer. now four years later, aig is considering joining a lawsuit to sue the federal government because they didn t like the terms they agreed to?
involved in the largest medicare fraud case in u.s. history, and he walked away with a $10 million severance package. pretty good deal, huh? the same rick scott who is pushing a medicaid privatization plan which would benefit his own health care company. tonight in our survey, i asked, should responsible gunowners speak up about gun legislation? 99% of you say yes. 1% of you say no. insurance giant aig is thinking about suing the federal government after the taxpayers bailed them out. remember that story? pretty disturbing story of corporate greed. bloomberg view columnist william cohan is here with reaction. we ll break it down. stay with us. [ male announcer ] house rule number 14.
now we are helping the east coast recover from hurricane sandy. the leading global insurance company here in america. everything plus a profit of more than 22 billion for the american people. thank you, america. so you may have seen that new ad from insurance giant aig which received $182 billion bailout from you, the taxpayers. well, it s been publicly with the high profile tv ad campaign but the rescued company now confirms its board will meet tomorrow considering suing the u.s. government claiming the shareholders were cheated in the bailout deal. michael delmaced reports on this in the new york times. thank you for joining us. thank you. this brand new ad campaign. yeah. i noticed it the other day. a great ad.