Unassociated Document

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 13G

(Rule 13d-102)

Information Statement Pursuant to Rules 13d-1 and 13d-2

Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No. )*

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company

(Name of Issuer)

Common Stock, $1.00 par value

(Title of Class of Securities)

025676206

(CUSIP Number)

May 19, 2009

Date of Event Which Requires Filing of the Statement

Check the appropriate box to designate the rule pursuant to which this Schedule is filed:

¨	Rule 13d-1(b)

x	Rule 13d-1(c)

¨	Rule 13d-1(d)

*The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting person's initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter disclosures provided in a prior cover page.

The information required on the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be "filed" for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Act") or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes).

CUSIP NO. 025676206

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1.	NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON Citadel Limited Partnership
2.	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) x (b) ¨
3.	SEC USE ONLY
4.	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware
NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON WITH		5.	SOLE VOTING POWER 0
		6.	SHARED VOTING POWER 906,850 shares
		7.	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0
		8.	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER See Row 6 above.
9.	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON See Row 6 above.
10.	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ¨
11.	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 1.56 %1
12.	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON PN; HC

____________________

The percentages reported in this Schedule 13G are based upon 58,162,259 shares of Common Stock outstanding as of May 15, 2009 (53,162,259 outstanding shares reported in the issuer’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 11, 2009, plus an additional 5,000,000 shares of Common Stock reported to be issued by the issuer on May 15, 2009 in a Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 18, 2009).

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13G

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1.	NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON Citadel Investment Group, L.L.C.
2.	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) x (b) ¨
3.	SEC USE ONLY
4.	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware
NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON WITH		5.	SOLE VOTING POWER 0
		6.	SHARED VOTING POWER 906,850 shares
		7.	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0
		8.	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER See Row 6 above.
9.	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON See Row 6 above.
10.	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ¨
11.	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 1.56%2
12.	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON OO; HC

____________________

2	See footnote 1 above.

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1.	NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON Citadel Equity Fund Ltd.
2.	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) x (b) ¨
3.	SEC USE ONLY
4.	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Cayman Islands
NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON WITH		5.	SOLE VOTING POWER 0
		6.	SHARED VOTING POWER 906,850 shares
		7.	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0
		8.	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER See Row 6 above.
9.	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON See Row 6 above.
10.	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ¨
11.	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 1.56%3
12.	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON CO

____________________

3	See footnote 1 above.

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1.	NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON Citadel Investment Group II, L.L.C.
2.	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) x (b) ¨
3.	SEC USE ONLY
4.	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware
NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON WITH		5.	SOLE VOTING POWER 0
		6.	SHARED VOTING POWER 906,850 shares
		7.	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0
		8.	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER See Row 6 above.
9.	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON See Row 6 above.
10.	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ¨
11.	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 1.56%4
12.	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON OO; HC

____________________

4	See footnote 1 above.

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1.	NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON Citadel Holdings II LP
2.	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) x (b) ¨
3.	SEC USE ONLY
4.	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware
NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON WITH		5.	SOLE VOTING POWER 0
		6.	SHARED VOTING POWER 906,850 shares
		7.	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0
		8.	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER See Row 6 above.
9.	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON See Row 6 above.
10.	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ¨
11.	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 1.56%5
12.	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON PN; HC

____________________

5 See footnote 1 above.

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1.	NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON Citadel Advisors LLC
2.	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) x (b) ¨
3.	SEC USE ONLY
4.	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Delaware
NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON WITH		5.	SOLE VOTING POWER 0
		6.	SHARED VOTING POWER 906,850 shares
		7.	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0
		8.	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER See Row 6 above.
9.	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON See Row 6 above.
10.	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ¨
11.	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 1.56%6
12.	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON OO; HC

____________________

6 See footnote 1 above.

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1.	NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON Citadel Derivatives Trading Ltd.
2.	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) x (b) ¨
3.	SEC USE ONLY
4.	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION Cayman Islands
NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON WITH		5.	SOLE VOTING POWER 0
		6.	SHARED VOTING POWER 906,850 shares
		7.	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0
		8.	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER See Row 6 above.
9.	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON See Row 6 above.
10.	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ¨
11.	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 1.56%7
12.	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON CO

____________________

7 See footnote 1 above.

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1.	NAME OF REPORTING PERSON S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON Kenneth Griffin
2.	CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP (a) x (b) ¨
3.	SEC USE ONLY
4.	CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION U.S. Citizen
NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON WITH		5.	SOLE VOTING POWER 0
		6.	SHARED VOTING POWER 906,850 shares
		7.	SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER 0
		8.	SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER See Row 6 above.
9.	AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON See Row 6 above.
10.	CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (9) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES ¨
11.	PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (9) 1.56%8
12.	TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON IN; HC

____________________

8	See footnote 1 above.

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Item 1(a)

Name of Issuer:

American Equity Investment Life Holding Company

Item 1(b)

Address of Issuer's Principal Executive Offices:

5000 Westown Parkway, Suite 440

West Des Moines, Iowa 50266

Item 2(a)

Name of Person Filing9

Item 2(b)

Address of Principal Business Office

Item 2(c)

Citizenship

Citadel Investment Group, L.L.C.

131 S. Dearborn Street

32nd Floor

Chicago, Illinois 60603

Delaware limited liability company

Citadel Limited Partnership

131 S. Dearborn Street

32nd Floor

Chicago, Illinois 60603

Delaware limited partnership

Citadel Equity Fund Ltd.

c/o Citadel Investment Group, L.L.C.

131 S. Dearborn Street

32nd Floor

Chicago, Illinois 60603

Cayman Islands company

Citadel Investment Group II, L.L.C.

131 S. Dearborn Street

32nd Floor

Chicago, Illinois 60603

Delaware limited liability company

Citadel Holdings II LP

c/o Citadel Investment Group II, L.L.C.

131 S. Dearborn Street

32nd Floor

Chicago, Illinois 60603

Delaware limited partnership

________________________

Citadel Holdings Ltd., a Cayman Islands company (“CH”), is majority owned by Citadel Kensington Global Strategies Fund Ltd. (“CKGSF”). Citadel Equity Fund Ltd. (“CEF”) is majority owned by CH. Neither CKGSF nor CH have control over the voting or disposition of securities held by CEF. Citadel Derivatives Trading Ltd. (“CDT”) is majority owned by CLP Holdings LLC (“CLP Holdings”). CLP Holdings does not have control over the voting or disposition of securities by CDT.

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Citadel Advisors LLC

c/o Citadel Investment Group II, L.L.C.

131 S. Dearborn Street

32nd Floor

Chicago, Illinois 60603

Delaware limited liability company

Citadel Derivatives Trading Ltd.

c/o Citadel Investment Group II, L.L.C.

131 S. Dearborn Street

32nd Floor

Chicago, Illinois 60603

Cayman Islands company

Kenneth Griffin

131 S. Dearborn Street

32nd Floor

Chicago, Illinois 60603

U.S. Citizen

2(d)

Title of Class of Securities:

Common Stock, par value $1.00

2(e)

CUSIP Number: 025676206

Item 3 If this statement is filed pursuant to Rules 13d-1(b), or 13d-2(b) or (c), check whether the person filing is a:

(a)

[__]

Broker or dealer registered under Section 15 of the Exchange Act;

(b)

[__]

Bank as defined in Section 3(a)(6) of the Exchange Act;

(c)

[__]

Insurance company as defined in Section 3(a)(19) of the Exchange Act;

(d)

[__]

Investment company registered under Section 8 of the Investment Company Act;

(e)

[__]

An investment adviser in accordance with Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(E);

(f)

[__]

An employee benefit plan or endowment fund in accordance with Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(F);

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(g)

[__]

A parent holding company or control person in accordance with Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(G);

(h)

[__]

A savings association as defined in Section 3(b) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act;

(i)

[__]

A church plan that is excluded from the definition of an investment company under Section 3(c)(14) of the Investment Company Act;

(j)

[__]

Group, in accordance with Rule 13d-1(b)(1)(ii)(J).

If this statement is filed pursuant to Rule 13d-1(c), check this box. x

Item 4

Ownership:

CITADEL INVESTMENT GROUP, L.L.C.

CITADEL LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

CITADEL EQUITY FUND LTD.

CITADEL INVESTMENT GROUP II, L.L.C.

CITADEL HOLDINGS II LP

CITADEL ADVISORS LLC

CITADEL DERIVATIVES TRADING LTD.

KENNETH GRIFFIN

(a)

Amount beneficially owned:

906,850 shares

(b)

Percent of Class:

1.56%10

(c)

Number of shares as to which such person has:

(i)

sole power to vote or to direct the vote:

(ii)

shared power to vote or to direct the vote:

See Item 4(a) above.

(iii)

sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of:

(iv)

shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of:

See Item 4(a) above.

____________________

10	See footnote 1 above.

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Item 5

Ownership of Five Percent or Less of a Class:

Not Applicable.

Item 6

Ownership of More than Five Percent on Behalf of Another Person:

Not Applicable.

Item 7

Identification and Classification of the Subsidiary which Acquired the Security Being Reported on by the Parent Holding Company:

See Item 2 above.

Item 8

Identification and Classification of Members of the Group:

Not Applicable.

Item 9

Notice of Dissolution of Group:

Not Applicable.

Item 10

Certification:

By signing below I certify that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, the securities referred to above were not acquired and are not held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer of the securities and were not acquired and are not held in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having that purpose or effect.

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After reasonable inquiry and to the best of its knowledge and belief, the undersigned certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete and correct.

Dated this 29th day of May, 2009.

CITADEL INVESTMENT GROUP, L.L.C. By: /s/ John C. Nagel John C. Nagel, Authorized Signatory	CITADEL LIMITED PARTNERSHIP By: Citadel Investment Group, L.L.C. its General Partner By: /s/ John C. Nagel John C. Nagel, Authorized Signatory
CITADEL EQUITY FUND LTD. By: Citadel Limited Partnership, its Portfolio Manager By: Citadel Investment Group, L.L.C., its General Partner By: /s/ John C. Nagel John C. Nagel, Authorized Signatory	CITADEL INVESTMENT GROUP II, L.L.C. By: /s/ John C. Nagel John C. Nagel, Authorized Signatory
CITADEL HOLDINGS II LP By: Citadel Investment Group II, L.L.C., its General Partner By: /s/ John C. Nagel John C. Nagel, Authorized Signatory	CITADEL ADVISORS LLC By: Citadel Holdings II LP, its Managing Member By: Citadel Investment Group II, L.L.C., its General Partner By: /s/ John C. Nagel John C. Nagel, Authorized Signatory
CITADEL DERIVATIVES TRADING LTD. By: Citadel Advisors LLC, its Portfolio Manager By: Citadel Holdings II LP, its Managing Member By: Citadel Investment Group II, L.L.C., its General Partner By: /s/ John C. Nagel John C. Nagel, Authorized Signatory	KENNETH GRIFFIN By: /s/ John C. Nagel John C. Nagel, attorney-in-fact*

John C. Nagel is signing on behalf of Kenneth Griffin as attorney-in-fact pursuant to a power of attorney previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 24, 2006, and hereby incorporated by reference herein. The power of attorney was filed as an attachment to a filing by Citadel Limited Partnership on Schedule 13G for Morgans Hotel Group Co.