Enron

Enron Tale Makes Beautiful Music

Filed under: Art

Can a play about accounting really deliver? Well, according to a review in Bloomberg News, "Enron" really adds up. Close to a decade after the company that was once #7 on the Fortune 500 list collapsed, bringing accounting firm Arthur Andersen with it, Lucy Prebble has brought it to the stage in London, now at the Neal Coward Theatre. Singing, dancing and slapstick are mixed with a healthy dose of realism to guide the audience through rise and fall of Enron.

Dinosaurs and light sabers are brought into the action to illustrate the work of then financial wizard Andrew Fastow (played by Tom Goodman-Hill), whose off-balance sheet companies, called "raptors," came to life as named and a project called "Death Star" led to the crossing of weapons a la Jedis.

The performances are said to have become profound, with Samuel West's Jeffrey Skilling showing the horror of the fall and Amanda Drew's Claudia Roe (fictional) adding a human touch as the character who represents the opponents Skilling pushed out of his way.

It's been a while since Enron dominated the headlines, and we've since had the mortgage-precipitated financial crisis to remind us of the power of greed. But, Enron kicked off the new millennium, a single company that destroyed vast amounts of value ... and now it's all set to song.

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Tags: Andrew Fastow, AndrewFastow, england, Enron, Jeffrey Skilling, JeffreySkilling, london, stage, theater, theaters, theatre

Enron Founder Ken Lay's Condo Up For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

The luxury Houston condo that once belonged to Ken and Linda Lay has finally been put up for sale. Ken Lay, who was the founder of Enron, died in 2006. The condo takes up the 33rd floor of The Huntingdon in the River Oaks area of Houston. The unit has four bedroom suites, four balconies, three fireplaces, a wine cellar and more in over 12,800 square feet. It is being quietly shopped around at $12.8 million.

It's not clear how the proceeds of the sale will be divided up. The Houston Chronicle posits that Linda Lay and government lawyers may have struck some sort of deal that might result in some of the money going to creditors. In 2002 the couple owned a wide variety of properties in Texas and Colorado but all of those properties have been sold. Linda Lay is said to be looking for a smaller home. The condo sale is being handled privately by Beau Herrold, Linda Lay's son from her first marriage and tours are by invitation only.

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Tags: enron, houston, huntingdon, ken lay, KenLay, linda lay, LindaLay

Enron Desks To Be Auctioned Off For Charity

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Auctions, Charity

Finally something good may come out of Enron. The custom desks of Ken Lay, Richard Kinder and Jeff Skilling of Enron are being auctioned off for a good cause. The furniture was donated to Saving Animals, a non-profit animal protection organization.The desks were designed by Gensler Arhcitects and made by Brochstein's with a Makore Pommelle veneer. The eBay auctions end on March 26.

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Tags: auction, charity, desks, ebay, enron, kenneth lay