bryce - pipe dreams; greed, ego and the death of enron (2003)

[...]... huge sums of money and did investment banking for the company, but their executives invested in Enron' s off -the- balance-sheet partnerships And the same bankers employed a gaggle of analysts who, given enough investment 6 PIPE DREAMS banking work by Enron, were happy to put out "strong buys" on the company's stock Enron is the biggest derivatives-trading firm to go bust since the failure of the hedge... fifty-four, and I'm starting over." There was plenty of irony in the location of the job fair Just twenty months earlier, Enron' s CEO and chairman, Ken Lay, was on top of the world, and that world revolved around Enron Field April 7, 2000, was undoubtedly one of the best days of his entire life That day, Enron Field opened for business, and the Houston Astros hosted the Philadelphia Phillies in the. .. 2001, tiny beads of sweat forming on her forehead as she walked the long, wide curving concourse at Enron Field Sherri Saunders wasn't alone Thousands of other former Enron employees were there, too, all of them hoping to impress one or more of the 2,00 corporations that had set up tables at the brand-new stadium on the edge of downtown Houston on the unseasonably warm afternoon All of the companies were... was making with other big energy firms and utilities outside of Enron, it was making mind-numbingly complex derivatives deals inside of Enron with Andy Fastow's off -the- balance-sheet partnerships Those derivatives deals—all completely unregulated by federal authorities and kept secret from investors —fatally corrupted Enron' s books By the time investors learned the size and scope of Enron' s derivatives... with the release of the report by William Powers, dean of the University of Texas Law School, Enron had already failed It's the biggest scandal to ever hit accounting, the world's secondoldest profession The once-great accounting firm Arthur Andersen wasn't just in bed with Enron, the venerable firm was providing the THE JOB FAIR 7 energy company with auditing and consulting services, while sharing office... wouldn't give me their names or phone numbers No, he really didn't want to give 10 PIPE DREAMS me any details about his job at Enron Joe had the ultimate I-wouldn'tcross -the- street-to-piss-on-you-if-your-brains-were-on-fire attitude But Joe said one thing that rang true: "Enron is not an operations company It is a deal company." A few minutes later, Joe glanced at his $1,400 designer watch and made it clear... still work in Houston and feared retribution All of them want to stay out of court But they wanted the true story of Enron' s failure to be written So they trusted me And though I cannot name them, I owe them my sincere appreciation Thanks I had a brigade of longtime friends and former Enron people (many of whom have become friends) who were supportive, candid, and generous with their time First, thanks... confidence in the entire financial system American investors, seduced by the irrational exuberance of the Internet Age and rocked to sleep by the greatest bull market in history, were suddenly hit with the ice-cold water of reality: Even the bluest of blue-chip companies could disappear, or be made nearly worthless, almost overnight Enron, the company of the 19908, the company that epitomized the 8 PIPE DREAMS... George W Bush, the man-who-would-be-president, had slapped Lay with the moniker "Kenny Boy." It wasn't exactly on a par 4 PIPE DREAMS with "Butch" or "Bubba" or any of the myriad other more macho Texas-style nicknames, but the nickname showed that Ken Lay was one of the chosen W knew who Kenny Boy was and better still, Kenny Boy knew he could call W when he needed him The hundreds of thousands of dollars... AUTHOR'S NOTE In reconstructing Enron' s finances, I relied heavily on Enron' s annual reports, their SEC filings, and the report published on February i, 2,002., by the Powers Committee, which was charged by the Enron board with investigating off -the- balance-sheet entities created by Fastow and his cronies Of all the documents I used, the Powers Committee report was the most important In my effort to . Enron board with investigating off -the- balance-sheet entities created by Fas- tow and his cronies. Of all the documents I used, the Powers Commit- tee report was the most important. In . Enron Vice-Chairman Member of Board of Directors Member of Board of Directors Chief Risk Officer Chief Accounting Officer Member of Board of Directors General Counsel Member of . Houston and feared retri- bution. All of them want to stay out of court. But they wanted the true story of Enron& apos;s failure to be written. So they trusted me. And though