Legacy of Greed
Enron 10 years later: Has Houston fully recovered from the shameful stigma?
Plenty of jail sentences.
And many more questions.Photo by Alex/Flickr
Ten years ago today, Houston-based energy titan Enron collapsed when it filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy — at the time, the largest corporate bankruptcy to-date. The seemingly unstoppable company left an unmistakable imprint on Houston — visually and economically, in the business realm and in the personal one.
Even as a teenager, I recognized the gravity of the situation. Though we've seen still larger instances of financial fraud, corporate cover-up and bankruptcies since 2001, this one hit so close to home for many in the Houston area. Friends knew friends who lost their jobs, children saw parents convicted for corporate crimes and organizations, from the Holocaust Museum to the Houston Astros, lost an influential benefactor.
The word "Enron" still connotes something guilty and shameful, although present-day attitudes toward the company and its collapse vary from bitter to complacent to grateful.
Unfathomable amounts of money were lost for shareholders and employees alike, in company stock and retirement accounts.
The word "Enron" still connotes something guilty and shameful, although present-day attitudes toward the company and its collapse vary from bitter to complacent to grateful.
Those feelings are illuminated in a four-part series by KUHF reporter Andrew Schneider, aired this week to mark the anniversary. Former Enron employees go on the record about the benefits and the detriments of working in such an innovative environment — about the lessons learned, the competitions endured, the ultimate denial despite the literal writing on the wall.
The unknowing and the convicted have gone on from Enron and Arthur Andersen (the accounting firm implicated the Enron scandal) to form new, thriving business enterprises in the fields of energy, finance and beyond. Employment and job growth in the Houston is growing at a greater rate than the national average.
A decade later, has Houston fully moved on from Enron?
