Enron and Stanford Financial Group may have gone bust in a big way, but the life was good while it lasted. Two slices of the Houston gilded age are now on sale: Enron CEO Ken and Linda Lay's opulent condo in River Oaks bastion The Huntingdon, and accused ponzi-schemer "Sir" Allen Stanford's yacht, Sea Eagle.
The Chronicle reports that the Lay apartment has an asking price of $12.8 million, and the that the home, which takes up the entire 33rd floor, includes"four balconies, three fireplaces, six elevators (two of them service), four private bedroom suites, nine bathrooms and a wine closet tucked easily into 12,827 square feet." According to the newspaper, this is the last property of the Lays, whose real estate holdings once totaled 18 properties in Houston, Galveston, and Aspen.
Ken Lay's securities fraud convictions were vacated after his death in 2006 because his appeals were never heard, and the details of any deals struck with the government or creditors are murky and full of conjecture (mostly mine). Gawkers, be warned, the apartment is being shown by invitation only. When the Chronicle's Claudia Feldman expressed a desire to see the $12.8 million space, Lay's son Beau Herrold response was “I bet you would.”
Luckily anyone with the desire and at least $2.5 million can get their hands on the yacht of Houston's accused mini-Madoff. Last week Ralph Janvey, the receiver in the Stanford case, petitioned the government to allow the sale of the Sea Eagle in order to preserve the maximum value of the estate. Currently the yacht is incurring docking fees of $25,000 per month as well as the cost of a maintenence crew.
According to the Houston Business Journal, Standford purchased the yacht in 1999 for $3.9 million, but since his "upgrades" reduced the number of state rooms, the value has been reduced. Janvey has negotiated an as-is purchase price of $2.5 million with British Dubai-based businessman Niel Helliwell, with higher offers to be considered for 60 days if the sale is approved.
Hang on, we're getting out our checkbooks...
