
The Smartest Guys in the Room
The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron
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Narrated by:
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Dennis Boutsikaris
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By:
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Bethany McLean
About this listen
The definitive volume on Enron's amazing rise and scandalous fall, from an award-winning team of Fortune investigative reporters.
©2003 Bethany McLean, Peter Elkind (P)2010 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“The best book about the Enron debacle to date.” (BusinessWeek)
“The authors write with power and finesse. Their prose is effortless, like a sprinter floating down the track.” (USA Today)
“Well-reported and well-written.” (Warren Buffett)
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In 2014, Theranos founder and CEO Elizabeth Holmes was widely seen as the next Steve Jobs: a brilliant Stanford dropout whose startup “unicorn” promised to revolutionize the medical industry with its breakthrough device, which performed the whole range of laboratory tests from a single drop of blood. Backed by investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper, Theranos sold shares in a fundraising round that valued the company at more than $9 billion, putting Holmes’s worth at an estimated $4.5 billion.
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Extreme retaliation against former employees
- By LEE on 05-29-18
By: John Carreyrou
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A Colossal Failure of Common Sense
- The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers
- By: Patrick Robinson, Lawrence G. McDonald
- Narrated by: Erik Davies
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the biggest questions of the financial crisis has not been answered until now: What happened at Lehman Brothers and why was it allowed to fail, with aftershocks that rocked the global economy? In this news-making, often astonishing book, a former Lehman Brothers Vice President gives us the straight answers - right from the belly of the beast. In A Colossal Failure of Common Sense, Larry McDonald, a Wall Street insider, reveals, the culture and unspoken rules of the game like no book has ever done.
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First take: Tale of the narcissist
- By Susan Hayden on 07-28-09
By: Patrick Robinson, and others
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Billion Dollar Whale
- By: Bradley Hope, Tom Wright
- Narrated by: Will Collyer
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Now a number-one international best seller, Billion Dollar Whale is "an epic tale of white-collar crime on a global scale" (Publishers Weekly), revealing how a young social climber from Malaysia pulled off one of the biggest heists in history. In 2009, a chubby, mild-mannered graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business named Jho Low set in motion a fraud of unprecedented gall and magnitude—one that would come to symbolize the next great threat to the global financial system.
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Couldn’t stop listening!
- By N Lane on 10-05-18
By: Bradley Hope, and others
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The Spider Network
- The Wild Story of a Math Genius, a Gang of Backstabbing Bankers, and One of the Greatest Scams in Financial History
- By: David Enrich
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2006, an oddball group of bankers, traders and brokers from some of the world's largest financial institutions made a startling realization: Libor - the London interbank offered rate, which determines the interest rates on trillions in loans worldwide - was set daily by a small group of easily manipulated functionaries, and that they could reap huge profits by nudging it to suit their trading portfolios.
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Does anyone "proofread" the audio book?
- By Gracie on 07-04-18
By: David Enrich
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The Wizard of Lies
- Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust
- By: Diana B. Henriques
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
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Who is Bernie Madoff, and how did he pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history? These questions have fascinated people ever since the news broke about the respected New York financier who swindled his friends, relatives, and other investors out of $65 billion. Many have speculated about what must have happened, but no reporter has been able to get the full story - until now. Diana B. Henriques of the New York Times has written the definitive book on the man and his scheme.
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The best of 3 madoff books
- By Angela willis on 03-18-13
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Liar's Poker
- Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street
- By: Michael Lewis
- Narrated by: Michael Lewis
- Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1986, before Michael Lewis became the best-selling author of The Big Short, Moneyball, and Flash Boys, he landed a job at Salomon Brothers, one of Wall Street’s premier investment firms. During the next three years, Lewis rose from callow trainee to New York- and London-based bond salesman, raking in millions for the firm and cashing in on a modern-day gold rush. Liar’s Poker is the culmination of those heady, frenzied years - a behind-the-scenes look at a unique and turbulent time in American business.
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Finally!
- By Anonymous User on 02-08-22
By: Michael Lewis
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Power Failure
- The Inside Story of the Collapse of Enron
- By: MiMi Swartz, Sherron Watkins
- Narrated by: Karen White
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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From inside the walls of Enron, a lone whistleblower attempted to avert the course of events leading to the largest bankruptcy in American history. On August 16, 2001, Sherron Watkins wrote an anonymous letter to Enron's Chairman, Ken Lay, laying out problems with Enron's use of partnerships to hide debt. She warned of a possible scandal that could topple the company if investors and the news media learned of the operations. Then, she revealed her identity and confronted Lay directly.
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Absolutely Spellbinding.
- By Claire on 03-09-09
By: MiMi Swartz, and others
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The Mastermind
- Drugs. Empire. Murder. Betrayal.
- By: Evan Ratliff
- Narrated by: Evan Ratliff
- Length: 11 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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The incredible true story of the decade-long quest to bring down Paul Le Roux - the creator of a frighteningly powerful internet-enabled cartel who merged the ruthlessness of a drug lord with the technological savvy of a Silicon Valley entrepreneur.
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Being too reliant on consensus backfires occasiona
- By El Alamein on 07-17-19
By: Evan Ratliff
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The Cult of We
- WeWork, Adam Neumann, and the Great Startup Delusion
- By: Eliot Brown, Maureen Farrell
- Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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WeWork would be worth $10 trillion, more than any other company in the world. It wasn’t just an office space provider. It was a tech company - an AI startup, even. Its WeGrow schools and WeLive residences would revolutionize education and housing. One day, mused founder Adam Neumann, a Middle East peace accord would be signed in a WeWork. The company might help colonize Mars. And Neumann would become the world’s first trillionaire.
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Incredible
- By Reeka on 08-02-21
By: Eliot Brown, and others
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House of Cards
- A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street
- By: William Cohan
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 25 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In March 2008, Bear Stearns, a swashbuckling 84-year-old financial institution, was forced to sell itself to JPMorgan Chase for an outrageously low price in a deal brokered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, who was desperately trying to prevent the impending catastrophic market crash. But mere months before, an industry-wide boom had "the Bear" clocking a record high stock price. How did a giant investment bank with $18 billion in cash on hand disappear in a mere 10 days?
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Riveting "Read" About Credit Crisis
- By Thomas on 04-25-09
By: William Cohan
What listeners say about The Smartest Guys in the Room
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- Annabells
- 09-30-17
Required reading for corp Legal & Finance
I'm general counsel for a drug company, and I'm not too familiar with the energy space. Turns out, Enron wasn't really an energy company. It was a financial conglomerate, a deregulation-securitization-self-dealing disaster.
The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean is a detailed account of the rise and fall of Enron and it gives the most insight into the actions of Lay, Skilling, and Fastow. Dennis Boutsikaris is a fairly good reader for nonfiction. I find his reading a bit slow, but perhaps it's good for complicated material.
This story of corruption is broadly applicable across sectors and the laws broken are relevant for corporations and public markets generally. There are some universal lessons here. If you work in the corporate world, particularly in BD/ M&A or G&A functions like Finance and Legal, you'll find this tale particularly illuminating (and cautionary).
Here are some of the gems:
- Your superiors won't always be superior.
- No person, idea or company is infallible.
- Maintain your inner compass so you can be guided by your own principles rather than blindly follow the orders of your boss (or CEO, parent or spouse).
- Don't do things that you think you "shouldn't email." You shouldn't be sending legal memos and important matters via interoffice or ways that don't create a record. If you hear colleagues saying "don't put that in email," ask yourself who this lack of documentation would protect? Nobody. You're actually creating risk and potential financial and government liability. The best way to protect yourself and the company is to refrain from whatever discussions or actions you think you "shouldn't email." Period.
- Communicate responsibly. If your recorded statements and emails contain profanity, racial or gender slurs or nicknames that are the same as those overheard on a grade school playground or in a blockbuster movie, you need training. The reality is that you're creating risk and if people are laughing it's probably to alleviate discomfort than express humor. There are many helpful courses on business communications.
- If you ever find yourself questioning a decision, ask yourself if you'd act differently if your pay or bonus was... half? double? zero? If so, revisit and research the matter until you can clearly show you're motivated by substantive factors that weigh in the company's best interest, rather than your personal financial interest.
- It's time to change course if you find yourself involved in events that are harming people and you wouldn't want printed in The NY Times or shared with your grandma/ dad/ wife/ kids/ etc (e.g., shutting off people's electricity in order to price gouge or selling company assets to your own partnership so you can steal millions).
- "Ask why, @$$h01e." Lol
- If your corporate "culture" is so macho that it involves company funds being spent on strip clubs and all-male trips where your colleagues risk their lives and break bones, it's time to find a new job.
- Always know what value you (and your work or company) provide to the world. If you ever lose sight of it, find a new company or career. Work and "making a living" isn't the only thing that matters, but it's vital to most people's security, health and spiritual wellbeing.
What's fascinating about the Enron story is the number and variety of fraudulent schemes this single company engaged in. It truly was a culture of corruption. It's tragic how many people lost their jobs and savings as a result of the illegal actions of a few greedy, seedy men at the center of this disaster.
Disasters like Enron cannot occur unless many people who know better remain silent instead of speaking out for what's right. If you're an in-house counsel, accountant or compliance officer and you think your company may be engaged in fraud, you are obligated to prioritize the law over fears about your job and personal finances. In those roles, it's impossible to be simultaneously doing your job and engaging in CYA. The 2 are mutually exclusive. Know the law and inform yourself (meaning, don't "cry wolf") and, when appropriate, use your voice and the wondrous electronic record-making capability that's available to you: email. You'll be shocked how much power you have, even as a junior attorney, auditor, quality assurance or other oversight professional, to keep your colleagues on the straight-and-narrow. All it takes is, "I'm concerned about XYZ..." 99x out of 100, others are concerned, too.
Even if you don't work in an oversight role, you can often escalate concerns through your company's legal or HR departments or compliance hotline. If you've tried to shine light on a potentially harmful and illegal situation and gotten nowhere internally, call a regulator. You're a taxpayer, funding these public servants ostensibly to act as watchdogs and checks-and-balances on industry and markets, right? Make them do their jobs.
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- Daniel Bugg
- 04-23-19
Phenomenal book, phenomenally well read
The book is exceptional and the narrator is excellent. Can’t ask for more than that.
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- tomsmomtile
- 12-27-20
Amazing
I’m a California resident and recall this adventure in utilities deregulation. Life here goes on but it’s never been the same. This story illuminates just how it happened. The reader is ideal for this incredible narrative as his voice possesses a tongue in cheek quality that fits this material exactly. Highly recommended
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- Philip Zapata
- 08-11-23
a DISGUSTING story of greed....gonna re-listen.
I remember the Enron scandal living here 3 hours south of Houston, and I've seen some documentaries about this scandal on various streaming sites. This book dose a marvelous job of outlining every person of interest involved, and goes in depth on what events led to its bankruptcy. I got to admit, not knowing economic lingo, some info did go over my head at first. Toward the end I had a better understanding of what was going on. I'm gonna go back through some chapters and re-listen. Especially now I know now how certain characters, affected Enrons bottom line.
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- PT
- 10-22-18
She Blinded Me With Finance!
Just as I expected. After graduating with honors in Journalism, I took an Accounting 101 course and failed miserably. So I wasn’t expecting to keep up with the anticipated shenanigans in this book.
It was fun, first to last, anyway!
I read audiobooks during activities that do not require my full attention, such as walking on the treadmill. So after things got really interesting in this book, it was more like listening to music for me. Not taxing, but entertaining writing, and excellent narration.
And of course much of the story is about the principals and personalities of Enron, not just the financial chicanery.
Highly recommended. Especially if you’ve already passed Accounting 101. ;-)
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- kelsie
- 07-04-22
Terrific
This is probably the keystone work on Enron’s rise and fall. Adding to that, though, is the excellence of the narration. Dennis Boutsikaris reads with verve, drama, and a sharp-edged, sardonic humor that matches step-for-step the ambience of the story being told. A terrific performance.
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- Dee
- 08-06-18
Fascinating and frustrating
The book expertly chronicles the "rise" and fall of Enron and the people who brought about both. Although long, it is interesting and moves at a brisk pace. I greatly enjoyed it.
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- James Gregory
- 04-04-22
In depth and insightful.
Bethany McLean writes the Enron story extremely well and the narrator is top notch too.
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-16-22
overall, good history lesson on Enron
reconfirmed and added to my understanding of the collapse of the company plus how the executives enriched themselves.
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- Sandy McMahon
- 05-02-18
A great lesson in the consequences of hubris
Well researched, written and read. Good lessons for any in the business world. Especially if you know anyone who worked at Enron!
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