·Popular past posts ·

Privatizing risk. The CEOs keep all the money — the employees keep all the risk (Mary Flood, Houston Chronicle):

...the jury heard from a former Enron employee who lost his retirement savings when the company collapsed.

John Sides, 52, a 22-year veteran of Enron, said he trusted Lay's promises enough to make investments based on them. On questioning from prosecutor Robb Adkins, Sides told the jury "I relied on Ken Lay."

Sides said he has since thrown out all his retirement documents "because they were too depressing."

The jury never heard how much Sides lost because Lay's lawyers requested that details about employees' losses be banned from the trial because they are too prejudicial. Lake ruled these details could not be presented in evidence.

But it has been reported that Sides, of Houston, saw his 401(k) worth about $500,000 dwindle to $4,000 when the company collapsed.

John Sides relied on Ken Lay enough to see a 99% loss on his savings. And yet we're supposed to feel sorry for Ken Lay, who has an alleged net worth of $650,000?

That, of course, doesn't factor in the value of his variable annuities which are protected from bankruptcy proceedings. Ken and Linda Lay will be expected to scrape by on the income from those investments, which will be a meager $912,000 per year for life, starting in 2007.

Awwwww....

{ 9:19 AM }

.