Enron’s historic crash
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SCOTT JAGOW: For a look back at this week in Business History, we open the Marketplace Vault. I think you’ll remember this one.
STACEY VANEK-SMITH: Back in 2000, Enron was fast climbing the ranks of the Fortune 500. The Texas-based energy-trading company had about 20,000 employees and claimed annual revenues of more than $110 billion.
But the company’s stock began to slide, dropping from more than $90 a share to about 26 cents a share in just four months.
Then, this week back in 2001, Enron filed for bankruptcy, kicking off one of the biggest scandals in U.S. corporate history
By the end of the year, investors had lost billions and many employees saw their pensions dry up completely. Turns out, Enron had been using decoy companies to hide billions in debt.
Enron itself still exists. It emerged from bankruptcy in 2004 and is in the process of liquidating its remaining assets.
I’m Stacey Vanek-Smith.
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