Editing Cornelius Vander Starr (section)

==Overview==
Cornelius Vander Starr, also known as Neil Starr or C.V. Starr (October 15, 1892 – December 20, 1968), was an American businessman and philanthropist best known for founding C.V. Starr & Co. in Shanghai, China, in 1919, which later evolved into the insurance giant American International Group (AIG). Born in Fort Bragg, California, to parents of Dutch ancestry, Starr’s father was a railroad engineer. His early life was marked by entrepreneurial spirit and a drive for global exploration. After briefly attending the University of California, Berkeley (1910–1911), he dropped out and returned to [[Fort Bragg]], where he started his first business selling ice cream at age 19. In 1918, he joined the U.S. Army but was not deployed overseas due to the end of World War I. His desire to travel led him to work as a clerk for the Pacific Mail Steamship Company in Yokohama, Japan, before moving to Shanghai, where he founded American Asiatic Underwriters (later American International Underwriters), the precursor to AIG. Forced to relocate to New York in 1939 due to Japan’s invasion of China, Starr built AIG into the world’s largest insurance company, growing from a $300 million market value to $180 billion. Beyond business, Starr was a philanthropist, establishing the C.V. Starr Foundation in 1955, which has since donated over $3.8 billion to causes in education, healthcare, culture, and public policy. He died in New York City in 1968, leaving his residuary estate to the foundation.