In 2008, the U.S. government bailed out the giant AIG Corporation. The government lent the company over $182 billion dollars in order to keep it afloat. The good news is that the company is ready to start paying back the money it owes. The government owns about 1.6 billion shares in the company estimated to worth at least $80 billion dollars.
The better news is that the transaction is likely to net the U.S. taxpayers a profit of about $40 billion dollars. The feeling on Wall Street is that the company is now on a better foundation and will be profitable in the future. Taxpayers hope this is true and we will not have to go through this again.