Enron: How America's 'Most Innovative Company' Went Bankrupt in Weeks

In 2000 Enron reported revenue of $100.8 billion, up from $40.1 billion a year earlier, and Fortune named it America's most innovative company six years running. By December 2001 it had filed what was then the largest Chapter 11 in US history. Mark-to-market accounting let it book future profits up front, and partnerships run by its own finance chief kept debt off its balance sheet. A $618 million loss, a four-year restatement and a junk credit rating followed within weeks, and the shares fell from $90.56 to 26 cents. Here is the full rise and ruin of Enron, told with charts built from its SEC filings, plus the lessons for anyone running a business. 0:00 Intro 0:56 Part 1: The rise 2:26 Part 2: Profit up front 3:56 Part 3: The cracks 5:37 Part 4: The fall 8:28 Why Enron really failed 9:24 Lessons for your business SOURCES (all charts and timelines are our own, made from these): US SEC (EDGAR): Enron Corp Form 10-K for fiscal year 2000 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/10... US SEC (EDGAR): Enron Corp Form 8-K announcing restatement https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/00... Enron Corp (hosted by University of Chicago): Enron third-quarter 2001 earnings release https://picker.uchicago.edu/Enron/Earnings... CNN Money: Enron timeline https://money.cnn.com/2002/01/21/news/enro... Fox News (AP): Enron awaits bankruptcy https://www.foxnews.com/story/enron-awaits... US Department of Justice: Former Enron executives sentenced / Skilling sentencing https://www.justice.gov/archive/opa/pr/200... US SEC: SEC press release 2004-6: Fastow settlement https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2004-6.htm Al Jazeera: Enron finance chief gets six years https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2006/9/26/e... Mail & Guardian: US court overturns Arthur Andersen conviction https://mg.co.za/article/2005-05-31-us-cou... NPR: Judge shaves 10 years from ex-Enron CEO's prison sentence https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/20... NBC News: Disgraced Enron chief Jeffrey Skilling released from federal custody https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/disgr... Wikipedia (used as a pointer): Enron https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron Wikipedia (used as a pointer): Enron scandal https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron_scandal Wikipedia (used as a pointer): Trial of Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trial_of_Ken... Figures are in nominal US dollars unless stated, and come from the filings and reports above. Some series mix restated years; see the sources for detail. This video is commentary and education, not financial advice. Narration uses an AI voice. #Enron #BusinessHistory #RiseAndRuin