The ENRON Scandal

Essay by ismael12 March 2004

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Founded in the early 1980's when Houston Natural Gas merged with Omaha, Enron rapidly became one of the biggest energy company in the United-States. By 2001, the energy giant was number 7 in the Fortune 500. In less than 15 years, it became a multi-billion dollar corporation and expanded internationally. And was starting to have big influences on the population and the world.

While everybody was investing and buying stocks from the company, thinking it was a very good one. Enron wasn't being loyal and was cheating her way up. The firm's success turned out to have involved an elaborate scam. Enron lied about its profits and stands accused of a range of shady dealings, including concealing debts so they didn't show up in the company's accounts. In a matter of months, one the biggest companies in the United States went from high to floor. It completely collapsed.

It all begun when Kenneth Lay, an energy economist, became chairman and chief executive of Enron.

His ambition for the company helped it go beyond the piping business and go international. He wanted to see an energy trading revolution and place Enron at the heart of it. By 2001, he appeared to be succeeding, having created a multi-national corporation and created thousands of jobs with annual income of billions of dollar.

In 1980's at the birth of Enron, energy corporations lobbied Washington to deregulate the business. They were fed up of the big shots in control of all the energy monopole. Companies including Enron said the extra competition would benefit both companies and consumers. New suppliers came to the market and competition increased. But the price of energy became more volatile in the free market.

Enron saw its chance to make money out of these fluctuations. It decided to act as middle...