Kenneth Lay Biography

Business executive and convict. Born Kenneth Lee Lay on April 15, 1942 in Tyrone, Missouri. Lay received both his bachelor and master degrees in economics from the University of Missouri. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1971. In 1970, after earning a Ph.D. in economics at the University of Houston, he went to work for the Exxon predecessor Humble Oil & Refining. He worked for the Federal Power Commission from 1971 to 1972 and served as the Energy Deputy Under Secretary for the United States Department of Interior until 1974.

In 1974, Lay joined Florida Gas Company, eventually serving as president of its successor company, Continental Resources Company. In 1981, he left Continental to join Transco Energy Company in Houston, Texas. Three years later, he joined Houston Natural Gas Co. as chairman and CEO. The company merged with InterNorth in 1985, and was later renamed Enron Corp. In 1986, Kenneth Lay was appointed chairman and chief executive officer of Enron.

In 2001, Lay sold large amounts of Enron stock in September and October as its share price fell. All told, he liquidated more than $300 million in Enron stock from 1989 to 2001. Enron filed for bankruptcy in December 2001, the biggest in U.S. history at the time, costing 20,000 employees their jobs and many their life savings, as well as losing investors billions. In July 2004, Ken Lay was indicted for his role in the company’s collapse, including 11 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, and making false and misleading statements.

On May 25, 2006, Lay was found guilty on all six counts of conspiracy and fraud. Sentencing was scheduled to take place on October 23, 2006. Ken Lay died of a heart attack in Colorado while vacationing on July 5, 2006. He is survived by his wife, Linda, two children, three stepchildren and twelve grandchildren.

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