Must-See ENRON at Cumberland
I heard a lot of buzz about the Enron documentary called Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, and being a fan of docs that expose the evils that exists everywhere- anything from The Corporation, Bowling for Columbine, The Take or Shake Hands With the Devil- I knew this was a film I had to check out before it left the Cumberland.
This documentary, based on the book of the same name, explores the leading figures behind Enron, and how the seventh largest US company that peaked at $73 per share in August 2000 went from a position of incredible power, to complete bankruptcy in less than a year. I realize every documentarian steers their work in a certain direction, but the blunt incriminating text/actions/VIDEO CLIPS exposes the despicable greed and complete lack of morality that was ENRON.
I can vaguely remember top Wall Street Execs getting pied in the face in the early 2000's, and I recall the newspapers littered with the ENRON logo, but I have to admit- not being an investor or all that interested in Bay or Wall Street, I really didn't pay too much attention to what this bankruptcy was all about. This documentary is AMAZING. Hands down. The layered story of Enron's collapse is dishy, shocking, infuriating and beautifully laid out in a 101 of what the hell went down.
Former CEO Jeffrey Skilling (known as the "ideas guy") formed a "mark-to-market" accounting scam, where companies could PREDICT their profits to come, which basically meant they could say anything they wanted to, to keep investors satisfied while trying to figure out their next plan of attack. Because this doc is SO layered with scandal, I can't begin to discuss how easily it exposed George Bush and his Pop in this corporate collapse, or tell you about the inside hand that Enron had in California's Electrical Shortage.
One thing is for sure, this doc will stay with you and make you think twice about where you invest your hard earned cash.
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