American International Group Inc. says the much-criticized gathering it held in September at a resort in California was for top-producing independent agents, not for its own executives.
Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, attacked the retreat Tuesday during a hearing on the recent problems at American International Group Inc., New York.
The event was mischaracterized at the hearing, AIG Chairman Edward Liddy has written in a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.
Waxman described the event as a “week-long retreat for company executives” at a resort in California where rooms can cost more than $1,000 per night.
Invoices sent to the committee showed that AIG paid nearly $200,000 for rooms, more than $150,000 for meals and $23,000 for spa fees.
Pictures of the resort were displayed during the hearing.
“Average Americans are suffering economically,” Waxman said. “They are losing their jobs, their homes and their health insurance. Yet less than one week after the taxpayers recued AIG, the company executives could be found wining and dining at one of the most expensive resorts in the nation.”