C.V. Starr Hall Named for Founder of One of Nation's Largest Insurance Agencies

Who would’ve guessed that the most talked-about investment group in the U.S. has ties to Hofstra University?
C.V. Starr Hall is named after the founder of The American International Group, Inc., better known as A.I.G. Cornelius Vander Starr. Most students, however, only know its name and purpose, and little about the man for which it is named.
C.V. Starr Hall is home to Hofstra University’s Frank G. Zarb School of Business.
A state-of-the-art technologically advanced building, C.V. Starr Hall opened for classes in the fall of 2000 and houses the Martin B. Greenberg Trading Room complete with a stock ticker that is delayed only 15 minutes from Wall Street.
Born on October 15, 1892 in Fort Bragg, California, Starr founded his first business – an ice cream stand – at age 19.
Starr served in World War I, and later headed to the Far East with only 300 yen in his pocket.
In 1919, Starr founded what would be one of the nation’s largest insurance corporations, the American International Group Inc.
He represented American insurance companies in fire and marine insurance coverage.
Successful in his first insurance venture, he began opening up more insurance businesses throughout the world.
He moved company headquarters to the United States in 1926, and insured American risks outside the U.S. In 1939, Starr moved the company headquarters to New York, expanding into Latin America.
After World War II, Starr established himself in Japan and Europe. His business grew exponentially, and he split it into two corporations, with A.I.G. domestic headquarters in New York and international headquarters in Bermuda.
He is also responsible for establishing The Starr Foundation which gives grants in areas such as: education, medicine and health care, human needs, public policy, culture, and the environment.
Starr died in 1968 at age 76, and A.I.G. became an industry leader in developing new initiatives, such as finite risk insurance, a multi-year insurance contract in which the insurer bears limited underwriting, credit, investment and timing risk.