Enron

Cultural  

1. An American corporation based in Houston, Texas, that traded in energy and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2001. Enron's collapse stunned most investors and analysts because Enron, the seventh largest corporation in the United States, had long reported huge earnings. Subsequent investigations revealed that Enron had inflated its earnings by hiding its debt and losses in subsidiary partnerships. Although some of the company's top executives made huge profits as Enron fell apart, many of its employees saw their retirement savings in Enron's 401(k) plan wiped out by the collapse of Enron's share price.

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Enron's collapse raised many questions about the reliability of corporate financial statements and the potentially cozy relationships between accountants and the firms they audit.

Example Sentences

As a prosecutor, she had helped try the Enron executives, winning her Washington notice and landing her in the White House as President Barack Obama’s counsel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

Pollack has also secured the acquittal of a former Enron executive and won back-to-back mistrials for a chicken company executive accused of price fixing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 8, 2026

In another high-profile case, Pollack obtained the acquittal of a former Enron accountant who was facing criminal fraud charges stemming from the collapse of the energy giant.

From Barron's • Jan. 6, 2026

Look back at Enron, Theranos or certain corners of today’s markets.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 29, 2025

Despite all the attention paid to rogue companies like Enron, academics know very little about the practicalities of white-collar crime.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt