Ken Lay now facing 'financial ruin'

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

Ken Lay now facing 'financial ruin'
RAW STORY
Published: February 25, 2006

Former Enron chairman Ken Lay is now facing "financial ruin," according to an article scheduled for the front page of Sunday's New York Times, RAW STORY has learned. Excerpts from the article written by Alexei Barrionuevo and Kurt Eichenwald:

Once at the pinnacle of Houston's financial and political elite with a fortune worth as much as $400 million, Lay, the former chairman of the Enron Corp., is now facing financial ruin.

While he has talked about his shrinking wealth since Enron's collapse, he has managed to keep up appearances, continuing to live in a full-floor apartment in the city's affluent River Oaks section. But already, according to personal financial records obtained by The New York Times, Lay has fallen out of the ranks of the city's millionaires, with a stated net worth of less than $650,000.

And that financial assessment is probably on the optimistic side. His assets, for example, include $1.9 million held in a trust that is almost sure to be eaten up by legal fees.

In addition, Lay, 63, faces potential liability from lawsuits that were filed against him by shareholders and others after Enron's collapse that would almost certainly force him into personal bankruptcy. Lay may also be forced to forfeit his remaining home, along with some other assets, if he is convicted in the criminal fraud trial that is now taking place in Houston.

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Ken_Lay_now_facing_financial_ruin_0225.html

[aquart]

1. Gosh, all of Enron's victims faced it much sooner than that.

Hope he dies in prison or the gutter.

[Kingshakabobo]

2. Where's that violin smiley? Oh here it is.

:nopity:

[smtpgirl]

58. I am with you

so sad too bad Kenny-boy

[Viva_La_Revolution]

102. *snarf*

Karma is a real bitch, huh? :rofl:

[NC_Nurse]

3. How terrible that

he will suffer the same fate as the Enron employees that he scammed!

:sarcasm:

[babylonsister]

4. Perhaps this will teach him some compassion for all the

suffering people he duped while climbing over them and swilling their retirement accounts.

[panader0]

5. Maybe he can get some of his former employees to donate

to his legal fund.

[Mandate My Ass]

11. yeah, like the guy with cancer who lost his health insurance and home

Poor baby Kenny might have to dip into his trust fund to pay his fat cat lawyers. boo freakin' hoo. :nopity:

He's lucky one of his ex employees didn't go on a hunting trip with him.

[Virginian]

6. Doesn't he own a home in Florida?

Aren't all homes in Florida protected from creditors in a bankruptcy?

Seems like I saw something about it a few years back on "60 Minutes."

[nicknameless]

106. That's what I was thinking. These big-money crooks usually buy

luxury homes in Florida. They're protected through some kind of Homestead Act.

[Libby2]

7. Now, that really breaks me up.

Hysterically

[formercia]

8. Bwahhh!!

[brook]

9. BooFrickingHoo.

Give him a pooper scooper and turn him loose in Hermann Park for all I care.

[NanceGreggs]

10. Oooooohhhh, that's too bad, isn't it?

"Lay now resides in the city's affluent River Oaks section ..."

I'm not familiar with the area, but isn't that just south of the
Cry-Me-A-F#cking-River?

:nopity: :nopity: :nopity: :rofl:

[MadisonProgressive]

24. I nominate you for best post in this thread

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

35. Agreed..."just south of the Cry-Me-A-F#cking-River" is a classic...

:rofl:

[NanceGreggs]

Thanks!

What would be TRULY great is if some young go-getter out there in the jorunalistic world were to track down a couple of those California 'grandmas' that the Enron employees were talking about, captured on audio tape, the ones who were talking about how 'grandma was going to blow a gasket when she got her energy bill', and ask THEM what they think about Kenny Boy's latests travails!

Man, I'd stand on line and pay big bucks to see THAT documentary!

[smtpgirl]

59. BWAAA

that is too funny!!!!

[leftchick]

60. and north of

I am living under a fucking bridge thanks to kenny boy. :puke:

[mom cat]

12. How much does he have stashed off shore? Swiss accounts?

[chalky]

73. First thing I thought, mom cat. There and the Cayman Islands.

n/t

[NewJeffCT]

86. If he really had $400 million before...

He would have to have been absolutely insane not to have diversified investments that included a decent portion overseas, with a portion of that untouchable.

So, if 10% was foreign investments, that is $40 million.

If 10% of that $40 million was in untouchable Swiss bank accounts or in the Caymans or similar, that is still $4 million.

Boo fucking hoo.

:nopity:

[Zan_of_Texas]

101. Kenny took home $275 million in the last 3 years of Enron's life.

Before it went belly up.

WTF did he do with all that money? I don't believe it's gone -- we've heard this song and dance before from the Lays.

He was selling Enron stock by the millions, day after day, too -- it's not like he lost all his money on that stock.

A month after they put 4000 Enron workers out on the street with 30 minutes notice (no word of continuing health insurance, no word of severance pay), Lay sent his wife out to plead on national tv that he had lost all the couple's money and might face bankruptcy. At the time, he had been paid $275 million by Enron over the prior three years. Their real estate alone was valued at $37 million at that time. Other assets held publically, like stock in other companies where he was on the board, were at least $18 million.

Additionally, when Ken Lay's wife Linda appeared on the Today Show (January 28, 2002) to lament that she and her husband had lost nearly everything in the crash of Enron's stock, they were in fact sitting on a number of undisclosed assets.

"We don't want to go bankrupt," Linda Lay said. "Other than the home we live in, everything we own is for sale....By anyone's standards it was a massive amount of money, and it's gone...There's nothing left. Everything we had was mostly in Enron stock." "What Did He Know? Wife Says Enron CEO Was Out of Loop ," By Lois Romano, Washington Post, January 29, 2002, http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A51564-2002Jan28¬Found=true.

Mrs. Lay later opened a resale shop. What a joke. It was called "Jus' Stuff." Our friendly neighborhood artists and anti-corporate-corruption protesters came out and protested with signs that said "Just Stuff It!"

There was no mention made of extensive real estate holdings in Houston. Nor was mention made of diverse holdings in publically held companies, start-ups, and even the new Texan football team. Nor was mention made of an annuity that had been purchased which would afford Ken and Linda Lay a retirement income of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. In fact, even at the deflated price of 48 cents per share at the time of Linda Lay's appearance, Ken and Linda Lay still controlled Enron stock worth over half a million dollars. Most Americans would be pleased as punch to own any one of the baskets of the Lays' holdings: real estate, Enron stock, other stock and co-ownerships, or the annuity.

Ken Lay's earnings at Enron, base pay alone, in one year, were $1.3 million. The average American household earns $42,151 per year. That means the average household would take 30 years, 10 months to earn JUST HIS BASE PAY FOR ONE YEAR. {U.S. Census, from U.S. Census website}

[Kolesar]

13. Twelve thought balloons above twelve heads say: "good" ...eom

[wryter2000]

14. Oh, my fucking heart bleeds n/t

n/t

[tridim]

15. "Net worth of less than $650,000"

I could live the rest of my life on that kind of financial ruin.

[sandnsea]

71. But people will "think" he's in financial ruin

Without ever stopping to consider what "net" means and that it's still more than 95% of Americans have. How we continue to allow words to brainwash.

[Robeson]

16. Good.

[Lisa]

17. the bank I used had to cough up $2.4 billion, for aiding and abetting

... "Kenny Boy" and his big scam. Money which the shareholders will likely be looking to recoup from me, through "service charges". And my other bank, the Royal Bank of Canada, may soon be in the same situation.

So I'm not terribly sorry about Mr. Lay. ("Dr. Lay", in fact, but I hope they take away his doctorate in economics for damaging the credibility of the discipline.) And I hope that Mr. Skilling and all the rest of the top brass have to pay the piper too.

http://www.mindfully.org/Industry/2005/CIBC-Settle-Enron3aug05.htm

[UrbScotty]

18. K.A.R.M.A. (nt)

[smtpgirl]

61. Yeah Karma, ain't it a bitch

[Blue_Tires]

92. it won't yet be karma until he's out in the streets begging

and scrounging dumpsters behind Wendy's

[doni_georgia]

97. To paraphrase Sam Kinison

"I hope (they're) eating out of Kentucky Fried Chicken garbage bins right now!

'Now there's one with meat on it!' "

Doni & PsA

[Demeter]

19. It's About Time!

NOw, when does his social ruin begin?

[JerseygirlCT]

20. Anyone crying? nt

[Libby2]

23. Oh stop

You're gonna' make me pretend to cry.


Karen Walker

[MadisonProgressive]

21. My response:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Webster Green]

22. Excellent!

Hope he winds up living in a cardboard box after he gets out of prison.:rofl:

[Geo55]

25. Sounds reasonable enough to me ,

Maybe he can stay in the energy field......like pumpin' gas down at local 7-Eleven.

[bluestateguy]

26. Ken Lay should hang from a rope with his balls in his mouth

Death penalty for white collar corporate crime!

I'm serious.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

27. But he was never rich to begin with

if you define "rich" as being content with what you have. He was always in the deepest poverty, and now he's even deeper.

[cdsilv]

28. GOOD! I hope the sumbitch ends up living in the 'Ken Lay YMCA'...

...that he gave his ill botten gootey to in Cinco Ranch out in Katy TX. West of Houston.

I was a member of this YMCA, one of the most luxurious Y's I've ever seen.

I really hope he ends up living at the fundie christian Star of Hope homeless shelter 1/2 mi. from 'Enron Field', and has to interact with real homeless folks.

BTDT.

[AndyA]

29. Hmmm...let me see if I can drum up some sympathy...

NOPE! Guess not. Lay is responsible for the financial devastation of so many people, it serves him right.

I still remember some of those comments he made when things were good: "My wife has very expensive taste" being one of them.

I hope he has to sling hash in a greasy hamburger joint to make a living. It's better than he deserves, and at least he'll have a legitimate job that actually does something for mankind other than screw everybody.

[IntravenousDemilo]

30. Aww, poor diddums...

But I should hope so. I also would have hoped it would be a requirement that he forfeit everything he's ever owned, down to the last penny.

[Moloch]

31. I know others have posted this... but

:nopity:

[thecrow]

32. Couldn't have happened to a more deserving person

:evilgrin:

[NastyRiffraff]

33. WHAAAAAAAAH!!!

Boohoohoohoohooohoohoo ::hiccup:: WHAAAAAAAH!!

Poor, poor Kenny Boy! How, how can he possibly live on $650,000?
:sarcasm:

[Blutodog]

34. Breaks my fucking heart!! NOT!!

Fuck Ken Lay!! I hope he ends up in the gutter where he belongs. I only wish he could take his pal King george with him.

[napi21]

36. Well, I sure don't view $650M as financial ruin!

I'd be thrilled with HALF of that! I hope the guy sees that $650M whittled ddown to maybe $100M and he has to use that to buy a shanty in Houston somewhere. I'm sure he'll get along great with his new neighbors!

[bluerum]

37. That breaks my heart. I hope he enjoyed it while he had it. eom

[wakeme2008]

38. BULLSHIT

He has money in one of Enron's Grand Cayman accounts. IMHO, but he can not touch it today because of the trial..

Just IMHO...

[Mandate My Ass]

44. most definitely bullshit

Ken Lay's Nest Egg

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2002/02/enron_insure.html
Late last month, the wife of former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay tearfully told a national television audience that she and her husband were struggling to avoid personal bankruptcy following the collapse of the Houston energy-trading company. What Linda Lay failed to tell viewers of NBC's Today show, however, was that she and her husband had shifted millions in personal assets to investments that are beyond the reach of creditors or legal judgments.

In February 2000, Mother Jones has learned, the Lays paid about $4 million -- an amount greater than Lay's entire salary from Enron that year -- to buy variable annuities that will, starting in 2007, guarantee the couple an annual income of about $900,000. While stocks and most other ordinary investments are open to attack by creditors, life insurance policies and annuities are protected in many states. Variable annuities of the sort purchased by the Lays are basically tax-deferred investments wrapped in insurance policies.


http://www.senate.gov/~kohl/homeste2.html

Just two weeks ago, the New York Times ran a story on former Enron executives like Ken Lay and Andrew Fastow who are doing some bankruptcy planning of their own. They are selling numerous properties around the country worth millions of dollars, but retaining -- or in some cases building -- luxury homes in Texas or Florida.

Using the homestead exemption, Lay will be able to retain his $7.1 million condominium in the finest apartment building in Houston, and Fastow will keep his multimillion-dollar mansion currently under construction. They will be able to enjoy their mansions, even if they declare bankruptcy, as their former employees struggle to find a new paycheck or to cover the rent.

[gristy]

47. that homestead exemption is insane

A reasonable law would be one where one would be able to keep a home worth the median value of homes in the county in which one resides. If your home is worth more, you'll be moving.

But I guess reasonable laws are so old school...

[Mandate My Ass]

49. so old school

the bankruptcy "reform" bill that passed actually was entitled "Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005" but like most legislation passed since Bushco took office, is all about rich people being able to abuse bankruptcy protection while faultless filers are treated extremely punitively.

[klook]

95. The schmuck is set for life. Disgusting. (eom)

[pinto]

39. Dear Ken, Call me when your last vehicle gets repossesed.Or your home.

[fknobbit]

40. Yep and so is Delay

And I have this bridge in...

[mac56]

41. Waah.

Fuckin' waah.

[BattyDem]

42. You know ... I just can't bring myself to care.

:nopity:

Now you know how your employees felt, Kenny-Boy! Karma's a bitch, isn't it?

[lovuian]

43. He played with Bush and got burned and he has hidden his

assets...but he is probably going to jail too...

he has to ask himself just like Schilling Libby and Abrahamhoff

Was it worth it???

[gristy]

45. Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Rhymes with Lay!:D

Must find me a NY Times tomorrow morning... Me thinks the Lay story will not be the only interesting one...

[Cerridwen]

46. I'm not buying it.

"stated net worth of less than $650,000." Stated by whom? Him? Yeah, I believe him. And as others here have noted, what assets has he hiding in and around the globe which are un-stated.

Next, a question; has this turn of events taught him anything other than "don't get caught?" That would be news.

This damned administration and its cronies is playing hell with my karma!

[Gin]

48. I don't buy it either.... "stated net worth" is the catch phrase

....he's got money offshore. (IMHO)

[Bluzmann57]

50. Financial ruin to him is different than to others

I imagine that if most of us here had financial ruin we'd be living in a cardboard box somewhere and asking for handouts. He will have to give up some banl account and sell a yacht or two. Tough shit. Let him try and live like a "commoner" who has to worry about his or her next meal. Financial ruin my ass.

[Miss Chybil]

51. I hope he can pay his electric bill. nt

[CatholicEdHead]

52. Ok, time for all DUers and former Enron employees to take up a collection

to help this "poor" CEO out. He needs his country club membership back.

:sarcasm:

[eppur_se_muova]

75. I'll happily contribute two shits. nt

[kestrel91316]

53. Maybe he should start looking for alternate housing, like maybe

a room at Grandma Millie's, with shared bath down the hall.

[AlCzervik]

54. shoudn't he have been facing this a few yearss ago? Why does he still $$$

left and how?

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

55. Oh darn.

Now I have to cry myself to sleep tonight. Must put that in the Filofax.

My gums bleed for the poor man.

[Ksec]

56. Oh My heart just bleeds for Kenny Lay.

Not.

He needs to be in prison for the rest of his life.

[Moderator]

57. Note

When the actual article in the New York Times with the work of the true writers ( Alexei Barrionuevo and Kurt Eichenwald) is published, feel free to post in LBN.

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

63. I'll never understand the rules.

Some Raw Story threads stay in LBN, others get moved. C'est la vie.

[fknobbit]

68. Me either. nt

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

62. Sad. Very sad. Boo-hoo.

[WinkyDink]

64. Just financial ruin? Too bad.

[spanone]

65. IT'S ABOUT TIME! THIEF

[Lady Effingbroke]

66. cry me a river.

WAAAAAH!!!

[Orsino]

67. 'Financial ruin' being defined as only one yacht, or only one limo?

He's rich, folks. Rich people don't miss meals, and they don't sleep on the sidewalk.

[Cleita]

69. I will go to my grave a happy corpse when they ALL fall

into "financial ruin" starting with *. I truly believe that if and when they are brought to trial to be made accountable for their actions, that instead of sentencing for imprisonment, they leave the courthouse with the clothes on their back and nothing else. I want all their assets impounded to be used to make ammends to their victims.

I also want them to know what it's like to live in the world they brought us, with crappy jobs, no health care and no hope at a time of their lives that they should be looking at a comfortable retirement. Let them live like the rest of us.

[japple]

76. That's right. And stand in line to get their healthcare at public

health clinics. Get their dental work done by dental schools. Get their hair cut by barber school students. Buy their own groceries at Walmart. Drive 1995 Ford Tauruses with bad tires. Have to do their own income taxes. Oh, I could go on and on. It's so much fun thinking up things these people need to be doing.

[stepnw1f]

70. He Deserves It

Karma punk!

[MoonRiver]

72. Maybe now he'll develop some empathy (for all his victims).

Nawwwwww... So may he rot in poverty unto eternity. It's called KARMA dude.

[eppur_se_muova]

74. And wouldn't you know I've already hit the wall re "pity fatigue"...

Sorry, Kenny, maybe some other time.

[Wetzelbill]

77. well, that breaks my heart

:)

[tsuki]

78. Is his off shore accounts included in the assessment? eoq

[demosincebirth]

79. Tell ya what.

I bet he's the type of guy that'll blow his brains out. I'm surprised he hasn't done it by now.

[Oldtimeralso]

94. blowing out brains

He has the best proctologist standing by!

[NNadir]

80. Here's the NY Times link.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/26/business/26lay.html?hp&ex=1140930000&en=f450350eb0866124&ei=5094&partner=homepage

Personally, I think this is just a defense ploy. The sonabitch Kenny Boy has big money stashed somewhere.

[elehhhhna]

81. Ken bought UNTOUCHABLE ANNUITIES that pay 900K per year

to him & Linda for LIFE, right after this hit the fan.

Probably several mil in offchore accounts, to be sure.

[demosincebirth]

113. He'd better move to Florida, and follow OJ.

[elehhhhna]

116. No reason to: Texas has the same generous laws regarding

homesteads, and the airfare & flight time to the Caymans is about the same.

[demosincebirth]

117. I guess republicans make better laws

for white collar thieves and rich murderers.

[elehhhhna]

119. Hell yeah. Convenientlyl located in warm retirement-friendly climates.

[SoCalDem]

82. Gee. how awful for him

Too bad he wasn't a better crook or he would have brazillions stashed in the Caymans.. Oh WAIT!! he probably DOES..

[WhiteTara]

83. good. If we don't manage to send his

ass to jail, I hope that he ends up eating garbage out of dumpsters in the city of his choice.

[banana republican]

84. What a CROCK!!!!!!!!!

HIDING THE MONEY AWAY IN ANNUITIES SO HE GETS $900k A YEAR IN RETIREMENT????

THAT IS B.S. HE'S NOT BROKE; HE'S A PUKE BROKEBACK WHORE.



In February 2000, Mother Jones has learned, the Lays paid about $4 million -- an amount greater than Lay's entire salary from Enron that year -- to buy variable annuities that will, starting in 2007, guarantee the couple an annual income of about $900,000. While stocks and most other ordinary investments are open to attack by creditors, life insurance policies and annuities are protected in many states. Variable annuities of the sort purchased by the Lays are basically tax-deferred investments wrapped in insurance policies.

[barb162]

85. I don't believe he only has 650,000 left

unless he sold all of that Aspen and other properties, etc. I believe he continues to lie like hell!

[casual hex]

87. Good old NY Times

You can count on them to come through for the Bushites.

This is clearly an effort to influence any potential jurors. You're pissin' in the wind Ken, no cares how poor you are. Hell has a hole waiting for you.

[NastyRiffraff]

88. I'll be happy when he's making license plates...

and eating creamed corn and bologna in his orange jump suit.

[calimary]

89. Awww... poor baby worth only 650K. That settles it once and for all.

Now, bush for SURE won't take his calls.

[yourout]

90. Aweee.. lets take up a DU collection for Kenny boy.

He should be locked up and broke......not just down to his last million.

[lectrobyte]

91. Explain to me again why Kenny isn't in jail.

[July]

93. Gee, cry me a river. nt

[anitar1]

96. I hope the little buzzard ends up pushing a shopping cart

and holding up a sign, pleading for a buck. But that is just a dream. He probably has lots of money stashed away. He has had plenty of time to hide some away.

[tblue37]

98. Odd coincidence.

I just finished watching The Smartest Guys in the Room with a friend before coming online this evening. I was fuming that those vile men need to suffer more than they did. I was furious that they got away with so many millions of dollars.

And BTW, everyone in America needs to watch that film.

[leftofthedial]

99. the old wet fart should be facing rectal ruin

[gatorboy]

100. Anyone check his swiss bank accounts?

I don't buy it. He's got millions stashed somewhere (that's what these people are good at).

[upi402]

103. My thought exactly

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=520694&mesg_id=521242

see; UNTOUCHABLE ANNUITIES post.

[tenshi816]

104. Self-delete

Somebody else posted just ahead of me saying exactly the same thing I did.

[SammyWinstonJack]

105. Oh cry me a river! Who the hell cares? And why isn't the puke in prison?

Oh and wonder what he thinks of his bidness buddy george who didn't know him? :rofl: Karma sucks! Big time!

[Nobody]

112. Because trying to live on Wal Mart wages is worse

to a guy like Kenny Boy.

I have long believed that no one should ever go without the basics, like food, shelter, clothes, medical care, but I'll make an exception in his case. He's destroyed too many people's livelihoods and retirement funds all in the name of greed, so yes, the punishment does fit the crime.

[Dees]

107. Maybe he should call OJ. OJ has learned how to tough it

out on $300,000 annual NFL pension. OJ could give him some pointers on shopping that kind of thing. It must be terribly difficult to have to adjust to a new lifestyle.

[shadowknows69]

108. Welcome to poor Ken

Enjoy the stay. We'll keep a McDonald's open for ya.

[patricia92243]

109. Poor ol' guy. I think we should take up a collection for him here on DU

:sarcasm:

[Vinca]

110. $650,000 left that anyone knows about. He probably owns

half of Grand Cayman island. If Kenny-boy manages to elude prison, I'm certain he'll have treasure buried somewhere. Let's hope he rots in a cell.

[BlueEyedSon]

111. Front page of the Sunday NY Times here

[shanti]

114. oh bull. he can dispense with the crocodile tears

his money is offshored and he knows it....

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

115. You heartless bastards!

What will he do without his fifth home in Aspen? He will probably have to switch to 2nd grade caviar, shame on you all.

[JacquesMolay]

118. That makes my fucking day ....

... let him eat the s*** he dished out to the working people at Enron that he screwed over - left without jobs and blocked from selling their shares in the company until they were worthless. Think of all the people in California he screwed over by jacking up their power bills.

Eat it, Kenny-bitch - you got it coming!

[Taxloss]

120. Where's that really, really, really small violin? n/t

:nopity: