When you put it all together, Lou Pai is one of the luckiest people on the planet. Although there has been extensive testimony about EES's problems -- Delainey, who replaced Pai in early 2001, called it a "basket case" -- the allegations of fraud at EES primarily involve later events, such as the transfer of EES losses into the wholesale division and public assurances about the business's success. Reportedly, her estimated net worth is around $1 million. According to Walker, the plan was to forge a collection full of new, cutting-edge pieces, along with a few examples of earlier modernist classics to work as anchors. To meet his divorce settlement, he cashed out of Enron to an amount believed to be around $300 million just before the collapse. In his college years, Lou was considered a mathematical genius. Davis is now an attorney in the Los Angeles office of Loeb & Loeb law firm, where he advises companies, nonprofits and schools. It was a Skilling trip, of course, one of his annual adventures, where he took his group of "Skilling's Boys" -- those employees who were his favorites -- to some exotic location to participate in some high-risk activity. rollings.us. View Melanie Pai's profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. Well, considering what happened next, I don't really think you can believe Karma had any impact on Lou Pai. (Creative Commons and flickr.com/people/eflon//Eflon). And former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow, who loved art, wanted Enron's corporate collection to rival any business's. Lou Pai's Wife Forced Him to Sell His $270M Enron Stake 6 Months Before Ponzi Scheme Went BankruptVideo Host: Michael SikandFollow Michael TikTok - http. It even inspired a limited-run Broadway show. And for those young people who made it, Enron was unreal. For instance, both Fastow and former Enron treasurer Ben Glisan testified that at a meeting of Enron's top executives in early September 2001, the company was coming roughly $500 million short of an earnings target. She has dark black hair and light brown eye and fair skin. Further, after the divorce settlement, Lou and Melanie were married. 2023 Celebrity Net Worth / All Rights Reserved. Glisan said Whalley knew it was wrong to be using reserves as an earnings-management cookie jar. There have to be plenty more anecdotes where that came from, once Whalley takes the stand -- or there would be, if he ever does. Most stock quote data provided by BATS. In March of 1997, Lou was named CEO of a subsidiary called Enron Energy Services (EES). Basic Organizational Forms: A SecondLook, Learning from the Past- Structural Changes overTime. Does Internet Increase, Decrease, or Supplement Social Capital? His only real consequence came in 2008 when he agreed in an out of court settlement to pay $31.5 million in civil fines and restitution to Enron's investors. Or someone else is a more compelling witness. One of the horses he bought for her is named Gucci. James Fallows. (Creative Commons and flickr.com/people/eflon//Eflon), Mark Chediak, Greg Farrell and Naureen Malik, Kenneth Lay outside the Bob Casey Federal Courthouse in Houston, Texas, in 2006. Answered all inbound calls for the dealership. Follow peoplewithfame. Andrew Weissmann, former federal prosecutor who led the investigating task force. Money, and a peculiar fascination with strippers.". And though he has been on the defense witness list for Skilling and Lay's trial, it seems highly improbable he will take the stand in Houston. CARTER SMITH). Kopper lived a few blocks away in a cottage he eventually remodeled to have an almost Japanese-style look, the house taupe in color, with a gray roof. "Yeah, that was a little dirty," Delainey says Whalley remarked. 2021 $280 million. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. He became one of the top lieutenants of Jeffrey Skilling (the eventual CEO as well as brother to veteran meteorologist Tom Skilling), primarily tasked with detailing and implementing Skillings vision of transforming Enron into a de facto energy commodities trading firm. It led to an affair with stripper Melanie Fewell (who was also married) and resulted in a pregnancy. Although Melanie Fewells actions after marrying Pai are not well known, it is said that she resigned from her position as an exotic dancer. Actually, Lou Pai's penchant for strip clubs wasn't a reputation, it was a legend. (FORTUNE Magazine) - One of the the jaw-dropping moments in the trial of former CEOs Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling came when former CFO Andy Fastow discussed the road show that Enron executives set up to reassure skittish investors right after Skilling's abrupt resignation in August 2001. The government has opted not to call him. He was one of the major figures in Enrons success and was known as the invisible CEO.. He now works in Houston for another ex-Enron hotshot, John Arnold, who started a hedge fund after Enron's collapse. Fastow said he asked Whalley. During his tenure as CEO, Lou earned approximately $100 million in salary alone. and/or its affiliates. He appears to be quite tall in stature if his photos, relative to his surroundings, are anything to go by. (The government has ruthlessly narrowed its case, never calling two witnesses when one might do.). Photographer: F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg, Andrew Fastow is escorted by U.S. See the complete profile on LinkedIn and discover Melanie's . Prior to the companys demise, Pai cashed out $270 million in stock, divorced his wife, and wed an exotic dancer. and M.S. "Exhilarating," "freewheeling," "innovative," in the words of one 30-year-old who leaped three titles in three years. According to Fastow, Skilling "didn't disagree" that Enron's international businesses "were generally a disaster. Background. Mark was also lucky. . . Lou Pai might be the only person in history who actually managed to make $280 million by having an affair with a stripper, getting her pregnant and then losing both his marriage and his extremely high paying corporate job. Pai picked up 77,500 acres (along with some partners) in southern Colorado -- land that former shareholders and employees are trying to attach in their lawsuits. Pai obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree and Master of Science Degree in economics from the University of Maryland, College Park where his father was a professor. Arriving at Enron in 1994, he preceded one key government witness (Glisan) in the role of corporate treasurer, and in October 2001 succeeded another (Fastow) in the role of CFO. On December 2, 2001, Enron filed for bankruptcy. Davis, a Democrat, blamed Enron for gaming Californias power market and contributing to the blackouts that roiled the state. in economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, where his father, Shih-I Pai, was a prominent aeronautics professor. They have three. Lou wasn't exactly fired from Enron, but he also wasn't exactly encouraged to stay on as CEO of EES. Lou Pai's Wife & Children. He didnt admit wrongdoing, and he wasnt charged criminally. In 2008, Pai settled insider trading charges and agreed to pay regulators $31.5 million. Famie -- the chef from "Survivor II" -- taped an episode of his Food Network show "Keith Famie's Adventures" on a Baja trip with Haines (the episode airs today). "The houses really aren't elaborate for Houston," says one top interior designer in town. They weren't fourth-generation Houstonians -- which is basically what it takes to get into the Bayou Club. He said that Whalley responded by shoving his chair back from the table, seemingly in exasperation. Hes not currently listed among the executives on the company website, and attempts to reach him were unsuccessful. But he almost certainly won't. This is the crazy part: Meanwhile, Lou married his stripper girlfriend, now known as Melanie Miller Pai. Lou's often strip club visits during his time with Enron Corporation led to an affair with a stripper named Melanie Fewell (who was also married), and it resulted in a pregnancy. Skilling had instituted performance review committees to determine the staff's top 5 percent and the bottom 5 percent in each division, and three levels in between. The objective is to create an environment that supports women in making the best decisions for them, free from prejudice or societal expectations. Upon learning of the affair, Pai's then-wife of over 20 years, Lanna, with whom he has two biological children, filed for divorce. He continues to neither admit nor deny the Securities and Exchange Commission claims that he sold millions of shares of Enron stock based on non-public information about the company's financial problems. Before Enron's stock took off, and everybody made tons of cash. "Why are you leaving?" Sherron Watkins, Enrons former Vice President of Corporate Development. Lou has a net worth of $270 million as of 2021. She may not have been the best businesswoman, but that's not a crime, and there's no evidence she tried to cover anything up. Press J to jump to the feed. Fastow, seen as one of the chief architects of using off-book partnerships to conceal billions of dollars of losses and debt, pled guilty to securities and wire fraud in 2004 and wassentenced to six years in prison. Melanie Fewell, Lou Pais wife and a former stripper, is well-known for having wed the former Enron executive Lou Pai. His then-wife of over 20 years, Lanna, with whom he has two biological children, filed for divorce upon learning of the affair. During his time at the now-defunct energy company, Pai was often referred to as "the . Apr 3, 2006 - Where, for example, is Lou Pai, the enigmatic Jeff Skilling confidant. He was notorious for his. 15 Taissa Farmiga Movies and TV Shows That Prove She's As Good As Her Sister Vera Farmiga, Netflix's We Have a Ghost (2023) Ending Explained. [2] In August 2001, Watkins alerted Lay to problems with the companys books, warning in a memo that Enron could implode in a wave of accounting scandals. She was lauded as one of Time Magazines persons of the year in 2002 along with two other whistleblowers, Cynthia Cooper of WorldCom and the FBIs Coleen Rowley. If only all of Enron's former executives could recycle their reputations. Apr 3, 2006 - Where, for example, is Lou Pai, the enigmatic Jeff Skilling confidant. She was never accused of any involvement in the fraud that emerged in late 2001. In the Powers report, the Enron board's investigation of the company's unraveling, the firm's "tragic" collapse is attributed, in part, to "a culture that appears to have encouraged pushing limits.". He was ultimatelyrecalled in 2003, with the states 2000-2001 electricity crisis fresh on voters minds. Your email address will not be published. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 Pai left his wife to marry an ex-topless dancer, and his lawyer argued the stock sales were tied to the divorce, according to court documents. in economics from the University of Maryland, College Park, where his father, Shih-I Pai, was an aeronautics professor. Here, young Ivy Leaguers believed they could reinvent not just the energy business but the American business model, the whole U.S. economy. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Did Pai voluntarily offer over $30 million to help shareholders negatively impacted by the Enron scandal or was this court-mandated? Melanie Pai was born in 1963 in Houston, Texas, United America. 135 Followers, 188 After, 10 Posts - See photos and videos from Instagram Melanie Fewell (@melaniefewell9) After learning about the problem, Pai's wife, who is over 20 years old, Lanna, with whom she has two . The gas bank, as it became known, reduced Enrons own exposure to fluctuating prices and spurred its growth through the 1990s. Mar 28, 2009. At the time, the price averaged $53.78 per share. Evil chink. It wasn't enough for former Enron president Jeffrey Skilling to hike in the Rockies, he wanted to scale glaciers in Patagonia. Two decades later, the companys name is still invoked in shorthand by policymakers and average Americans alike when talking about corporate greed and fraud. The bottom 5 percent could expect to be sent to the redeployment office, also known as the "office of shame," where they got a phone and a desk and a chance to be rehired by another division. Copyright 2021 - All right reserved People With Fame. [, A mathematics wiz, he was instrumental in getting Enron into the trading business. Baxter adored boats. In a move that the SEC questioned as actually a result of insider information, Pai netted himself somewhere around 300 million dollars. Lou would reportedly visit a particular Houston strip club (located not far from Enron's world headquarters) every night after work. So how did Lou prove his identity? Photographer: F. CARTER SMITH/Bloomberg(BLOOMBERG NEWS/F. After finding this out, Lou's then-wife of over 20 years of marriage, filed for divorce. Photographer: F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg(Bloomberg News/F. All the Enron employees know is that one of Skilling's Boys came home from that adventure with a broken leg. But he also didn't testify, after threatening to plead the Fifth. Before Skilling divorced his first wife in a messy, contentious battle and took up with an Enron secretary whom staffers called "Va Voom" behind her back. Pai obtained both his BS and MS from the University of Maryland in College Park, where his father was a math professor. His then-wife of over 20 years, Lanna, with whom he has two biological children, filed for divorce upon learning of the affair. Before Fastow formed his side partnerships, enlisting Kopper's aid, and walked off with a minimum of $30 million. With a partner, Kinder went on to formhis ownenergy company. Arnold's fund, started with $8 million of his own money, has performed spectacularly and now has some $1.5 billion in assets. Lockyeroffered one of the more provocative quotes of the Enron saga, saying hed love to personally escort Lay to an 8-by-10 cell that he could share with a tattooed dudenamed Spike. Skilling and Lay belong to the River Oaks Country Club -- the second-most exclusive in the city, beyond the Bayou Club -- but they haven't been seen there of late either. Disclaimer. Well, believe it or not, this is exactly what happened to former Enron executive (and alleged stripper aficionado) Lou Pai. After their child was born they moved to Colorado and there Lou turned the second largest landholder after buying a 120 sq. 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