Kenneth Lay, of Enron infamy, died early this morning in Aspen after an apparent heart attack. “Kenny Boy”, as W was wont to call the largest contributor to his 2000 presidential campaign, presided over the rise and fall of the Enron empire of the 90’s. Enron’s Crooked E logo and the corporation itself became synonymous with corporate greed, malfesance, accounting fraud, and ethics lapses.
Under Lay’s leadership - or lack thereof - cooking the books pervaded the corporate culture like never before. Like a souffle in the hands of a kitchen novice, Enron collapsed, taking investor and employee profits and pensions with it. As the shockwave of its’ collapse in 2001 sped through Wall Street, corporations, careers, and institutions were destroyed.
Remember Arthur Andersen? Founded in 1913, it survived the Great Depression and following recessions. Its founders created the profession of accounting and set the gold standard for generations of beancounters to follow. In what was surely an ironic twist of fate, Arthur Anderson will now forever be known for cooking the books, not keeping the books.
Born and raised in Missouri, Lay earned both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Economics from the University of Missouri and completed his Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Houston. He served in the US Navy and in the Nixon administration. Therefore, his claims of being too simple to understand the machinations behind Enron’s ascent and collapse fell upon deaf ears during his recent federal trial.
On May 25, he was convicted of 9 counts of securities, banking, and wire fraud. His running buddy and successor as CEO of Enron, Jeffrey Skilling, was convicted of 23 counts. Sentencing was set for October with both facing 100+ year prison sentences.
Lay is survived by his wife, Linda, five children, and 12 grandchildren.