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July 5, 2006
Kenneth L. Lay, Ex-Chairman of Enron, Dies
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/05
HOUSTON - Enron's founder and chairman, Kenneth L. Lay, died of a heart
attack at his vacation home in Colorado, according to his spokeswoman.
"Ken Lay passed away early this morning in Aspen. The Lays have a very large
family with whom they need to communicate. And out of respect for the
family, we will release further details at a later time," Kelly L. Kimberly
said in a statement this morning.
In May, Mr. Lay was found guilty on six counts of fraud and conspiracy and
four counts of bank fraud. The former chief executive, Jeffrey K. Skilling,
was convicted of 18 counts of fraud and conspiracy and one count of insider
trading.
For years, Enron's gravity-defying stock price made it a Wall Street darling
and an icon of the ''New Economy'' of the 1990's. But its sudden collapse at
the end of 2001 and revelation as little more than a house of cards left
Enron, with its crooked E logo, the premier public symbol of corporate
ignominy. Investors and employees lost billions when Enron shares became
worthless.
Enron's fall had a far greater impact than on just the energy industry by
heightening nervousness among average investors about the transparency of
American companies. ''The Enron case and all the other scandals and cases
that trailed after it may have finally punctured that romance with Wall
Street that has been true of American culture for a while now,'' said Steve
Fraser, a historian and author of ''Every Man a Speculator: A History of
Wall Street in American Life.''
At Enron, Mr. Skilling was the visionary from the world of management
consulting who spearheaded the company's rapid ascent by fastening on new
ways to turn commodities, like natural gas and electricity, into lucrative
financial instruments.
Mr. Lay, the company's founder, was the public face of Enron. Known for his
close ties to President Bush's family, he built Enron into a symbol of civic
pride and envy here in its hometown of Houston and throughout the financial
world.
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