Lou Pai

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lou Lung Pai (白露龙) born Nanjing China 1946, is a Chinese-American businessman and former Enron executive. He was CEO of Enron Energy Services[1] and Enron Xcelerator, a venture capital division of Enron. He left Enron with over $280 million.[2] Pai became the second largest land owner in Colorado when he purchased the 77,500-acre (314 km²) Taylor Ranch [3], though he later sold the property in 2005.[4] He has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing in the Enron scandal and has exercised his 5th Amendment right in regard to the subsequent Enron class action lawsuit.[5] Accounts of the Enron scandal have frequently portrayed him as a mysterious figure[6][7][8]; a former Enron employee, interviewed in the documentary film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, referred to Pai as the "the invisible CEO".[9]

Contents

[edit] Early life

Pai was born in Nanjing, China and came to the US at the age of 2. Pai obtained both his BS and MS from the University of Maryland in College Park, where his father was a math professor. [10]

A mathematics wiz, he was instrumental in getting Enron into the trading business. He was notorious for his strip club visits at the expense of the Enron shareholders. His corporate expenses went so out of hand that an internal memo was circulated in Enron explicitly disallowing "strip club" expenses. Pai also used Enron's corporate jet for personal travel.

His frequent visits to strip clubs led to an affair with a stripper. His wife, upon finding out about it, filed for divorce. To meet his divorce settlement, he cashed out of Enron (to an amount believed to be around $300 million) just before the collapse. An attorney for Pai says sale of the stock was part of the divorce settlement, insulating Pai from insider trading charges, adding "He's the only guy who's ever been lucky to get divorced." Pai then married his stripper girlfriend.

As owner of the Taylor Ranch, Pai owned a 14,047 foot Colorado mountain called Culebra Peak.[7] His neighbors reportedly referred to the ranch as "Mount Pai".[11]

Pai is currently investing in pollution emission credits at Element Markets, LLC.[12]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Pai and Skilling (2005-06-28).
  2. ^ Investors Defeated In Enron Decision. Washington Post (2007-03-20).
  3. ^ Taylor Ranch sells. High Country News (1999-08-16).
  4. ^ Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Stylus Magazine (2005-06-02).
  5. ^ The luckiest people in Houston. Fortune Magazine (2006-04-03).
  6. ^ Lou Pai, Enron's Elusive Mystery Man. National Public Radio (2006-05-17).
  7. ^ a b The Mystery of Pai. Denver Westword (2002-04-18).
  8. ^ Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. Stylus Magazine (2005-06-02).
  9. ^ Enron: caught on camera. Accountancy Age (2005-06-16).
  10. ^ McLean, Bethany (2003). The Smartest Guys in the Room. Penguin Group, USA, 57. 
  11. ^ C-SPAN Q&A : BRIAN LAMB, HOST: Bethany McLean, author (2005-06-20).
  12. ^ Enron veterans flourish due to 'mystique'. Accountancy Age (2006-11-14).

[edit] External links

 This business-related biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.