Posted on October 18, 2016
New York, NY — The Starr Foundation has made a $25,000 grant to Oxfam America to assist Cubans devastated by Hurricane Matthew, particularly those left homeless by the powerful storm.
“The Starr Foundation has a long history of supporting relief efforts in areas around the world affected by natural disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, and flooding, and the Foundation’s history of giving in the Caribbean is well-established”, said Maurice R. Greenberg, Chairman of the Foundation and Chairman and CEO of the Starr Companies.
“We hope this is the beginning of a new and more vigorous program in Cuba”, Mr. Greenberg continued. “From the earliest days of the Starr Companies, we have had a long history in Cuba, where the companies’ international headquarters were located until 1961. The Foundation was not able to include Cuba in its areas of giving in the past, but we are looking forward to deeper relations now that diplomatic relations have been restored. This donation expresses our concerns and desire to help those displaced by Hurricane Matthew and our deep affection for the Cuban people.”
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The Starr Foundation was established in 1955 by Cornelius Vander Starr, an entrepreneur who founded C.V. Starr Co. and other companies, some of which were combined under the leadership of Maurice R. Greenberg, Mr. Starr’s successor, to become American International Group, Inc. (AIG). Mr. Starr, a pioneer of globalization, set up his first insurance venture in Shanghai in 1919. He died in 1968, leaving his estate to the Foundation.
Mr. Starr’s wish was that his partners continue to run his foundation and his companies after his death. Mr. Greenberg built Starr and AIG into the largest insurance and financial services concerns in the world and continues to serve as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of C.V. Starr & Co., Starr International Co., Inc., and other Starr corporate entities.
Under Mr. Greenberg’s leadership as Chairman of The Starr Foundation, the assets of the Foundation have grown from a few million dollars after Mr. Starr’s death to around $1.5 billion today, making it one of the largest private foundations in the United States. Since 1955, the Foundation has made more than $3.3 billion in grants worldwide, more than $2.2 billion of which was paid to organizations in New York City and State.
The Foundation’s primary areas of giving are medicine and healthcare, education, human needs, and international relations. The Foundation has also made substantial grants in the areas of culture and the environment. The Foundation has endowed C.V. Starr Scholarship Funds and Maurice R. Greenberg Scholarship Funds at more than 150 colleges and universities and selected secondary schools around the world.
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