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CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The Board of Directors
American Equity Investment Life Holding Company
We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statements (No. 333-157846, No. 333-149854, No. 333-148681, and No. 333-123862) on Form S-3 and the Registration Statement (No. 333-127001) on Form S-8 of American Equity Investment Life Holding Company and subsidiaries (the Company) of our report dated March 16, 2009, with respect to the consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of December 31, 2008 and 2007, and the related consolidated statements of operations, changes in stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2008, and all related financial statement schedules, and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2008, which report appears in the December 31, 2008 annual report on Form 10-K of American Equity Investment Life Holding Company.
Our report dated March 16, 2009, contains an explanatory paragraph that states the Company has adopted Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 157,Fair Value Measurements, effective January 1, 2008, and in 2006 the Company adopted Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 108,Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements when Quantifying Misstatements in the Current Year Financial Statements.
/s/ KPMG LLP | ||
|---|---|---|
Des Moines, Iowa | ||
March 16, 2009 |