Were there any clues to indicate the impending collapse of Enron?
NOW's on-air report explores suspicions about Enron's business
practices, and talks to the people that knew Enron best —
its employees and business partners.
The Enron situation is extraordinarily complex. Enron was the
world's largest energy trader. Enron's demise is the
largest bankruptcy in American history. Here are a few of the
facts that you need to know.
Enron
Must-Knows
Num. of Enron employees:
21,000
Enron stock high and low:
$90/60¢
Num. of seated U.S. Senators who
took Enron campaign contributions:
71
$ amount of Enron political contributions
1990-2002:
$5.9 mill.
Enron's off-the-books liability (est.):
$690 mill.
Est. Enron loss to employee 401Ks:
$1.2 bill.
Sources: NPR, THE NEW YORK
TIMES, THE ECONOMIST, FORBES, and the Center for Responsive
Politics
Impact: Legislation that will
change the way American business and politics work is
likely to result from this very public debacle. There
are at least ten Congressional committees and two federal
agencies investigating the situation. Early predictions
suggest that a campaign finance reform bill, earlier stalled
in the House, will come up for debate again soon. Congress
is also looking into limiting the percentage of 401K funds
that an employee can hold in company stock. Accounting
firms are also likely to come under greater regulation
— especially the "special purpose entities" —
off balance sheet partnerships that held so much of Enron's
debt.
