Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer who oversaw the federal Sept. 11 Victim Compensation Fund, has chosen not to participate in public memorial events marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks, opting instead for private reflection. Feinberg, nearing the end of a five-decade legal career, described the responsibility of administering the fund as deeply challenging and transformative.
The fund was established shortly after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, in which nearly 3,000 people were killed and thousands more injured when Al Qaeda hijackers crashed planes into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. Congress approved the compensation program within two weeks of the attacks to provide financial support to victims’ families and the injured, while also protecting the airline industry from potentially crippling lawsuits.
Feinberg took on the role voluntarily, drawing on his prior experience mediating complex cases, such as the 1984 settlement involving Vietnam veterans exposed to Agent Orange. Over nearly three years, he managed the distribution of more than $7 billion to nearly all eligible claimants, including relatives of victims from almost 60 countries.
In interviews conducted between December and August in Washington and New York, Feinberg discussed the emotional complexities of his work. He met with hundreds of bereaved families who shared their grief, memories, and sometimes anger. Responses to the offer of compensation varied widely. Internationally, some families viewed the U.S. government’s approach with suspicion, concerned about potential obligations tied to accepting funds. Domestically, others believed the compensation was an attempt to silence victims or diminish their loss.
Compensation amounts were calculated based primarily on projected lifetime earnings, which led to criticism that the system placed unequal value on different lives. Some families perceived Feinberg as unsympathetic, a perception he acknowledges with regret. He recalled encounters where expressions of sympathy were met with rebuke or where offers of financial support failed to meet families’ emotional needs. Feinberg reflected that a spiritual or pastoral figure might have been better suited to provide solace.
Despite these challenges, Feinberg adapted his approach, focusing more on listening to claimants than on explaining the fund’s mechanics. Ultimately, the program achieved broad acceptance, with about 97 percent of eligible relatives and many injured individuals agreeing to participate.
The experience profoundly altered Feinberg’s outlook on life and mortality. He emphasized the unpredictability of life’s course and the importance of valuing each day. As his own retirement approaches, Feinberg described a lingering awareness of life’s fragility, noting how small decisions can have life-or-death consequences.
His 2021 book on the fund, “What Is Life Worth?,” was reissued to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the attacks, encapsulating his reflections on the personal and societal impact of the tragedy and the compensation process he administered.