Cornelius Vander Starr (also known as “Neil” or C.V. Starr) was a visionary entrepreneur, a pioneer of globalization, and a generous philanthropist who founded the insurance companies that were later consolidated under American International Group (AIG) and the Foundation that bears his name. As a global humanitarian with a deep respect for cultural diversity and a commitment to improving the lives of others, it has been said of Mr. Starr that his imperative was people.
Born in 1892 in Fort Bragg, California, Mr. Starr showed his innovative spirit and business acumen at an early age. After just one year at the University of California, Berkeley, he dropped out and opened an ice cream store, which he eventually sold for $1,000—a significant sum at the time. In 1914, Mr. Starr moved to San Francisco, where he got a job selling automobile insurance by day and prepared for the California bar exam by night, which he passed after several months of study and without ever attending law school. He then helped form an insurance brokerage firm, which he ran until March 1918, when he enlisted as a Private in the U.S. Army, hoping to be shipped overseas. Always the entrepreneur, while in the army, Mr. Starr started a laundry service for fellow soldiers, which soon brought in $400 a month—more than a Major’s pay.
After being mustered out as a Sergeant, he moved to Yokohama, Japan, and, by the age of 26, was working as a clerk with the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. Less than a year later, Mr. Starr moved on to Shanghai, where, in 1919, he established American Asiatic Underwriters—the first American-owned insurance agency in Shanghai. These early experiences in Japan and China fueled a fascination with Asian cultures that shaped the rest of his life.
Over the course of his career, C.V. Starr built the largest insurance organization in the world, comprising 150 owned-and-affiliated insurance companies and agencies, with representatives in more than 100 countries. His forward-looking approach to business included hiring local Chinese employees for positions of responsibility—a practice unheard of among foreign companies in that period—and establishing businesses throughout Asia at a time when most Americans were still strongly isolationist.
Mr. Starr made his mark not only through the enterprises he built, but also by influencing a great number of people whose lives he touched, both personally and through The Starr Foundation, which he established in 1955. Philanthropy played a central role in Mr. Starr’s life: He believed in the potential of every person, regardless of their background, race, religion, or gender, and he sought to enable opportunities for their growth and development. Though Mr. Starr had no children of his own, he took a great interest in helping young people, providing scholarships for students who had merit and potential but could not afford higher education, including the children of his employees around the world. A patron of the arts, he fostered the careers of promising young artists. He supported projects in medicine and health care and cared deeply about furthering Americans’ understanding of the world—Asia in particular—and promoting international relations.
“I have been a teacher, really, all my life,” Mr. Starr once told T.C. Hsu, the son of a Chinese associate who became Mr. Starr’s protégé and, ultimately, The Starr Foundation’s president. And though he shunned the spotlight, with a passion for anonymity that amounted almost to shyness, Mr. Starr—like all great teachers—left an impact for posterity.
Cover of Cornelius Vander Starr (1892-1968)
Cornelius Vander Starr died in 1968 at the age of 76, leaving his estate to the Foundation. Inscribed at the entrance to his gravesite at his home in Brewster, New York, is a motto from a temple in the western hills outside Beijing: “Ching-shen pu ssu—The spirit never dies.”
A book about Mr. Starr was commissioned soon after his death, drawing from interviews and quotes from those who knew him best, including colleagues, friends, and employees: Cornelius Vander Starr (1892–1968) (C.V. Starr & Co., 1970).
You can download the re-released biography as a PDF or ebook.