Quotessence
Home / Topics / Enron Quotes

Enron Quotes

Browse 69 quotes about Enron.

Related topics

LaysCompanyEnron ScandalIfsScandal

Enron Quotes

“Isn't there a flaw in the logic of that phrase - speak truth to power? It assumes that power doesn't know the truth. But power knows the truth just as well, if not better, than the powerless know the truth. Enron knows what it's doing. We don't have to tell it what it's doing. We have to tell other people what Enron is doing. Similarly, the people who are building the dams know what they're doing. The contractors know how much they're stealing. The bureaucrats know how much they're getting in bribes. Power knows the truth. There isn't any doubt about that. It is really about telling the story. Good fiction is the truest thing that ever there was. Facts are not necessarily the only truths. Facts can be fiddled with by economists and bankers. There are other kinds of truth. It's about telling the story. As a writer, that's the best thing I can do. It's not just about digging up facts.”

FactsTruthPowerStoryEnron
Book:The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile: Conversations With Arundhati Roy
Create image

“In my world, people are always plotting. You have no idea of all the crimes people in business commit every day. Like it was nothing. Or there’s a set of special rules for them. Remember when Bush made that whole speech about ‘corporate ethics’ last year? What a fraud. You think stuff like Enron or WorldCom is an aberration? It’s only the tip. Business is a religion. Probably the only one practiced all over the world.”

BusinessCrimeEnronCorporate GreedAndrew VachssWorldcom
Book:Down Here
Create image

“I didn’t set out to commit a crime. I certainly didn’t set out to hurt anyone. When I was working at Enron, you know, I was kind of a hero, because I helped the company make its numbers every quarter. And I thought I was doing a good thing. I thought I was smart... but I wasn’t. I wake up every morning, and I take out my prison ID card, which I have with me here today. And it makes certain that I remember all the people. I remember that I harmed so many people in what I did. It encourages me to try to do the little things that I can to make amends for what I did.”

CrimeHeroForgivenessGreedFraudForgiveness QuotesEnronRestitution
Author:Andrew Fastow
Create image

“Indeed, the big brokerage firms tend to avoid standing out from the crowd, downgrading a stock only after its problems have become obvious. In October 2001, fifteen of the seventeen analysts following Enron still had a “buy” or “strong buy” recommendation on the stock even though it had already lost 50 percent of its value in the midst of the company’s accounting scandal.”

CrowdEnronStand OutStockRecommendationAnalyst
Book:The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don't
Create image

“The CEO of Enron, Jeffrey Skilling, married one of the Enron secretaries this week. It's amazing how romantic these Enron guys can be when they realize that wives can't be forced to testify against their husbands. Skilling said today she was the best secretary Enron had ever had. She could shred 950 words a minute. ... I guess they are on their honeymoon right now. That's going pretty well. Hey, he's used to screwing Enron employees.”

WellsSaidTodayUsedGuyRealizingWifeWeekMinutesRight NowHusbandMarriedHeyEmployeeSecretaryCeoHoneymoonEnron
Author:Jay Leno
Create image

“So Merrill Lynch has launched its first campaign in years to advertise the accomplishments of its investment banking business. The ads feature things like Merrill's recapitalization of Sierra Pacific. I guess including "helping Enron achieve its earnings goals in 1999" might be a little awkward given that Merrill Lynch bankers are currently on trial in Houston for that "accomplishment."”

YearsFirstsLittlesHelpingMightGivenGoalAchieveInvestmentIncludingCampaignsTrialsFeaturesAccomplishmentAdsAwkwardEarningBankingBankersPacificHoustonSierraEnronInvestment Banking
Author:Bethany McLean
Create image

“Every coach, every executive, every leader: They all know right from wrong. Even those Enron guys. When someone uncovers a scandal in their company, I don't think they can say, "I didn't know that was going on." They're just saying they're too dumb to do their job! And if they really are too dumb, then why are they getting paid millions of dollars to do it? They know what's going on.”

IfsThinkingKnowsJobsGuyCompanyLeaderMillionsPaidDollarsCoachesDumbExecutivesScandalJust SayingEnronEnron Scandal
Author:Bo Schembechler
Create image

“Creative accounting is an absolute curse to a civilization. One could argue that double-entry bookkeeping was one of history's great advances. Using accounting for fraud and folly is a disgrace. In a democracy, it often takes a scandal to trigger reform. Enron was the most obvious example of a business culture gone wrong in a long, long time.”

LongCultureGoneCreativeDemocracyExampleCivilizationLong TimeAbsolutesObviousArguingReformCurseFollyFraudScandalTriggersDisgraceEntryAccountingEnronBookkeepingEnron Scandal
Author:Charlie Munger
Create image

“Before the New York Times starts running "Portraits in Grief" of former Enron employees, it's worth remembering that even after the collapse, Enron stock is still worth more than the entire Social Security "trust fund."”

StillsRunningRememberSocialGriefSecurityNew YorkFormerEmployeeFundCollapsePortraitsSocial SecurityNew York TimesEnronTrust Funds
Book:How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter
Create image

“The only beef Enron employees have with top management is that management did not inform employees of the collapse in time to allow them to get in on the swindle. If Enron executives had shouted, "Head for the hills!" the employees might have had time to sucker other Americans into buying wildly over-inflated Enron stock. Just because your boss is a criminal doesn't make you a hero.”

IfsMightHeroManagementCriminalsHillsBuyingEmployeeExecutivesBossCollapseBeefSuckerEnronTop Management
Author:Ann Coulter
Create image

“The not-quite-sort-of lie works here too - often an ad will announce that "Congressman Johnson voted for a bill that gave tax breaks to companies like Enron." True - although the bill allowed all companies to accelerate depreciation of copying machines. Yes, Enron benefited, but Enron also benefited from the revolution of the Earth around the sun. Hardly an argument to freeze the planet in one spot.”

EarthLyingCompanyBreakSunPlanetsRevolutionTaxesArgumentMachinesBillsSpotsAdsJohnsonFreezeCongressmanCopyingAccelerateTax BreaksEnronDepreciation
Author:James Lileks
Create image