1986
After 'Enteron' was mocked as a medical term, the merged company shortened its new name to Enron.
“And so they come back and they're like, what if we just get rid of the tur and we shorten it to Enron?”
Topic
Enron
18 facts from 4 episodes, in date order. These are what speakers said on the shows, each linked to the moment it was said. They aren't independently verified.
1996-2000
Enron's reported revenues grew about 7.5 times from 1996 to 2000, from $13.3 billion to over $100 billion.
“revenues grew 7.5x during those five years. they went from 13.3 billion in 1996 to over 100 billion in the year 2000.”
1997
In 1997 Enron staged a busy-looking trading room for Enron Energy Services to impress visiting securities analysts, according to the book The Smartest Guys in the Room.
“The war room had been rapidly fitted out explicitly to impress the analysts.”
1999
Enron launched its web-based trading platform, Enron Online, in November 1999, with Enron as counterparty to trades.
“In November of 99, they launched something called Enron online.”
2001
Bethany McLean published the Fortune article 'Is Enron Overpriced?' on March 5, 2001, questioning how Enron made money.
“So she publishes on March 5th, 2001, an article entitled Is Enron Overpriced?”
2001
In 2001 Enron's finance team reported total obligations of about $34 billion against $12.8 billion of debt on the balance sheet.
“So he comes back to Lay and the board and says, our actual obligations are $34 billion, which the debt on the balance sheet was $12.8 billion.”
2001
Dynegy agreed to acquire Enron for $8 billion in stock in November 2001, a deal that later fell through.
“Dinergy is going to acquire Enron for $8 billion, an all stock deal, no cash.”
2001
Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, the largest US bankruptcy to that point.
“On December 2nd, indeed, just a few days later, Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.”
2001
According to Celia Huber, the 2001 Enron scandal pushed boards toward a stronger focus on compliance oversight.
“So in 2001, the Enron scandal happened and it led to an increased focus on compliance.”
2008
In September 2008 settlements with banks including JP Morgan and Citigroup brought $7.2 billion into the Enron bankruptcy estate for shareholders.
“the whole suite of settlements with a whole variety of banks, JP Morgan, Citigroup, various others, come in for a total of $7.2 billion”
2022
A host says a company descended from Enron's oil and gas business trades publicly as EOG and is worth roughly $80 billion.
“there is a company today called Enron Oil and Gas that's like an $80 billion company publicly traded as EOG.”
Undated
Enron became the first non-financial company to adopt mark-to-market accounting.
“Enron, when they did adopt this, became the very first non-financial company to use this method.”
Undated
Under the rules of the time, a special-purpose entity could be kept off a company's books if at least 3% of its capital came from outside investors.
“as long as at least 3%, 3, 1, 2, 3% of the capital in that entity comes from outside investors”
Undated
Enron was Arthur Andersen's largest client, paying about $50 million a year, split between audit and tax fees and consulting fees.
“Enron became Anderson's biggest client in the world. They were making $50 million a year from Enron, half of which was audit and tax fees and half of which was consulting fees.”
Undated
The SEC allowed Enron to project cash flows up to 20 years ahead and record them as revenue immediately.
“The SEC allowed them to go out to 20 years that they could collapse into today revenue.”
Undated
Enron booked over $100 million in revenue on day one of a video-on-demand deal with Blockbuster that never launched.
“But of course, with Enron's mark-to-market, they booked over $100 million in revenue on day one for it.”
Undated
John Ray's administration of Enron's bankruptcy returned about $13 billion to creditors, roughly 36 cents on the dollar.
“He was able to get 13 billion out to creditors, which is about 36 cents on the dollar.”
Undated
The host recounts that Charlie Munger told him Warren Buffett and Munger bought a pipeline from Enron after a Friday call, and that Buffett wired the money without an email.
“So he said that him and Warren bought like this pipeline or something from Enron, and they got a call on Friday.”
Episodes