On what was described as Enron's first earnings call in 25 years, the infamous energy company's chief executive acknowledged the accounting scandal that collapsed the company in 2001.
Connor Gaydos, the new leader of Enron – the American company that was rocked by the discovery of widespread fraud, leading it to file for bankruptcy – was flanked by the company's famed tilted E logo as he reflected stoically on the past.
"This company has a legendary history and some of it is good and some of it is bad," he said in a Zoom call attended by hundreds.
"That's fine, Enron's name has always carried weight, and we don't run from that – we embrace it."
Some view it as parody, others as performance art. Whatever it is, Mr Gaydos now owns the Texas-based company that had about 20,000 employees and more than $47 billion in assets before it collapsed.
The company primarily focused on electricity and natural gas, as well as trading in energy and physical commodities. It also offered financial and risk management services to other businesses.
An archived version of Enron's website claimed more than $100 billion in revenue as of 2000.
But whistle-blowers revealed rampant fraud, much of it in the form of egregious accounting methods, which destroyed the company and brought an end to a boom rooted in economic and energy deregulation starting in the mid 1990s.
As a result of the crisis, Enron's former chief executive, Jeffrey Skilling, served more than a decade in prison. The company's founder and former chairman, Kenneth Lay, probably would have been jailed had he not died before his sentencing. The company's former chief financial officer, Andrew Fastow, also served a prison sentence.
Enron was at the heart of one of the biggest US corporate scandals of all time. It now serves as a cautionary tale for companies, investors and consumers.
"Enron was always something that I had thought about since I was a child," Mr Gaydos told The National, days after Enron's earnings call.
The 29-year-old, originally from Arkansas, reflected on the tainted company's happier and more prosperous days, describing it as the "OpenAI or Nvidia of the mid 1990s".
He explained that his decision to restart the notorious company stemmed from viewing a documentary about its fall from grace. He looked up the Enron logo in the US trademark database and noticed that ownership of the symbol – by graphic designer Paul Rand, who also created the logos for IBM, Westinghouse, UPS and ABC – had expired.
Mr Gaydos hired a lawyer who helped with the trademark acquisition paperwork. For a few hundred dollars, including legal fees, he became the owner of the Enron brand. "It cost me what I think the price of cup of coffee will cost in a few years," he joked, referring to inflation.
In late 2024, Enron announced its comeback through accounts on Instagram, X and TikTok – which did not exist when the company went under in 2001. Now, Enron has about 500,000 followers on those social platforms.
"We're here to lead by example...we are Enron," a promotional video for the company said.
Since that video came out, Mr Gaydos has done several interviews and the company has heavily promoted a fanciful product it calls the Enron Egg, which it describes as a personal nuclear reactor "made to power your home for up to 10 years".
Several people purporting to be board members and high-level staff members took part in the recent earnings call. "I've got 60 people on the payroll right now," Mr Gaydos said.
The company also recently promoted a 2025 summer internship programme and a commitment to corporate diversity.
Although it is his first time leading a prominent brand, it is not the first time Mr Gaydos has been in the spotlight. He is one of the creators of Birds Aren't Real, the viral, performance art conspiracy theory designed as a critique of the abundance of misinformation pumped out on social media.
Mr Gaydos said the main thrust of the project was to show how the internet had been used as a tool to divide people. With the Enron endeavour, however, he wants to do something different.
“I want to unite people using the toolbox that we used with Birds Aren’t Real, but do it in a way that can hopefully shine a light on some of the areas that deserve to be exposed with the energy business,” he explained.
Mr Gaydos said in the two decades since Enron’s financial implosion, energy business consolidation, government subsidies and policies that lack environmental awareness have run amok. Consumers have suffered while energy profits have soared, he added.
He said his version of Enron was in the process seeking approval to become a retail energy provider. The Enron brand owner said that, in Texas, 10 “legacy monopoly companies” supply energy to about 60 per cent of the population.
Mr Gaydos accused those companies of vague pricing and outsourcing customer service to artificial intelligence. Without going into specifics, Mr Gaydos said Enron wanted to present Texas residents with a straightforward and economical path to provide energy to their homes or businesses.
“The energy monopoly in this country has got so out of hand,” he said, before changing to a more optimistic tone, adding that his goal is to bring back Enron and create a new company that will revolutionise energy. “If there's a few jokes along the way, and if some people laugh along the way, so be it."
Speaking with Mr Gaydos, it is sometimes difficult to tell what is real and what is parody.
One of the project's staff members who co-ordinated the interview insisted the push to become a retail energy provider was real. "Stay tuned," they said. "Enron has a lot of interesting stuff coming down the pike."
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE%20FIXTURES
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Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
SCHEDULE
Saturday, April 20: 11am to 7pm - Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival and Para jiu-jitsu.
Sunday, April 21: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (female) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Monday, April 22: 11am to 6pm - Abu Dhabi World Youth (male) Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Tuesday, April 23: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Wednesday, April 24: 11am-6pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Thursday, April 25: 11am-5pm Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Friday, April 26: 3pm to 6pm Finals of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Saturday, April 27: 4pm and 8pm awards ceremony.
Tips for entertaining with ease
· Set the table the night before. It’s a small job but it will make you feel more organised once done.
· As the host, your mood sets the tone. If people arrive to find you red-faced and harried, they’re not going to relax until you do. Take a deep breath and try to exude calm energy.
· Guests tend to turn up thirsty. Fill a big jug with iced water and lemon or lime slices and encourage people to help themselves.
· Have some background music on to help create a bit of ambience and fill any initial lulls in conversations.
· The meal certainly doesn’t need to be ready the moment your guests step through the door, but if there’s a nibble or two that can be passed around it will ward off hunger pangs and buy you a bit more time in the kitchen.
· You absolutely don’t have to make every element of the brunch from scratch. Take inspiration from our ideas for ready-made extras and by all means pick up a store-bought dessert.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
STAR%20WARS%20JEDI%3A%20SURVIVOR
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Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Match info
Premier League
Manchester United 2 (Martial 30', Lingard 69')
Arsenal 2 (Mustafi 26', Rojo 68' OG)
RESULTS
6pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 1 (PA) $55,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
Winner: Rajeh, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi (trainer)
6.35pm: Oud Metha Stakes – Rated Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Get Back Goldie, William Buick, Doug O’Neill
7.10pm: Jumeirah Classic – Listed (TB) $150,000 (Turf) 1,600m
Winner: Sovereign Prince, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby
7.45pm: Firebreak Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Hypothetical, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.20pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 – Group 2 (TB) $350,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Hot Rod Charlie, William Buick, Doug O’Neill
8.55pm: Al Bastakiya Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner: Withering, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass
9.30pm: Balanchine – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner: Creative Flair, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
The past winners
2009 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2010 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2011 - Lewis Hamilton (McLaren)
2012 - Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus)
2013 - Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull)
2014 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2015 - Nico Rosberg (Mercedes)
2016 - Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2017 - Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
Sukuk explained
Sukuk are Sharia-compliant financial certificates issued by governments, corporates and other entities. While as an asset class they resemble conventional bonds, there are some significant differences. As interest is prohibited under Sharia, sukuk must contain an underlying transaction, for example a leaseback agreement, and the income that is paid to investors is generated by the underlying asset. Investors must also be prepared to share in both the profits and losses of an enterprise. Nevertheless, sukuk are similar to conventional bonds in that they provide regular payments, and are considered less risky than equities. Most investors would not buy sukuk directly due to high minimum subscriptions, but invest via funds.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
