Is Enron back? After an X post claimed the company’s “new CEO was hit with a pie in NYC,” social media is erupting with questions about the company and the perceived assault.
Enron, the company infamous for its 2001 collapse, was revealed to have cheated investors and enriched top officials after a five-year FBI investigation led to jury convictions and guilty pleas from many involved. Founder and CEO Kenneth Lay was found guilty of securities fraud related to the scandal, and died three months before his scheduled sentencing in 2006. Lay’s conviction was vacated following his death.
A screenshot of the aforementioned X post appeared to circulate on Facebook in mid-December, with users dishing out their own takes.
“Oh it wasn’t home made, it was made in a factory… “, one user wrote. Another remarked: “Enron went down in 2007. It does not exist today.”
But has Enron returned? Not exactly.
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Who owns the new Enron?
According to the United States Patent and Trademark Office, there are multiple trademarks and service marks registered or applied for by the Enron Corporation, including “ENRON. WE’RE BACK. ASK WHY.“; “ENRON CARES“; “ENRON THE WORLD’S LEADING COMPANY“; “I AM ENRON“; among others.
So who owns the Enron Corporation?
The answer is The College Company LLC, which is owned by known satirist Connor Gaydos. Gaydos is one-half of the brains behind the mock movement “Birds Aren’t Real” — a conspiracy theory parody that asserts birds are extinct and have been replaced by government drones. No, not the drones people are claiming to see in the skies above the mid-Atlantic, but U.S. government surveillance drones. Media reports assert Gaydos began the parody in 2017 with Peter McIndoe, but the pair claim the movement began decades earlier during the McCarthy era’s pursuit of Americans who held to far-leftist leanings.
Since its founding, the advocates for the Birds Aren’t Real Movement have opened chapters on college campuses, made network TV appearances, and sold plenty of merchandise. Next, it seems, comes Enron.
Gaydos’ LLC bought the Enron trademark in 2020 for $275, documents show. Gaydos is listed as the corporation’s CEO on its website.
On the new Enron website, the corporation lists the following under its terms of use:
“The information on the website about Enron is First Amendment protected parody, represents performance art, and is for entertainment purposes only.”
Enron aims to ‘solve global energy crisis,’ ‘warn against corporate greed’
On Dec. 2, the corporation posted a press release titled “Enron Corporation announces relaunch with a vision to solve global energy crisis.”
“With a bold new vision, Enron will leverage cutting-edge technology, human ingenuity, and the spirit of adaptation to address the critical challenges of energy sustainability, accessibility, and affordability,” the release states.
The corporation also listed four “key pillars” for the new vision: “Adaptation as strength”, “leadership by example”, “forgiveness and progress”, and “solving the energy crisis”.
According to their website, Enron is hiring, and touts comprehensive benefits as a draw for professionals eager to further its vision. Current “employees” laud the company as “egalitarian”, “honest”, and “leading the way for a new chapter in American business.”
According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the company’s trademark class is Education and Entertainment services, “namely, a continuing program about the dangers of corporatism and corporate greed accessible by means of radio, television, satellite, web-based and mobile phone applications.”
Listed under the various Enron entities’ goods and services are merchandise such as calculators, staplers, beach towels; beverages such as beer and wine; and other offerings such as audio and visual recordings.
USA TODAY fact check rates the Enron pie incident as satire
A fact check conducted by USA TODAY has found that the post of the “CEO” (Gaydos) taking a pie to the face is satirical, in multiple ways. For one, it’s Gaydos, a known satirist, taking the hit, and the incident itself resembles 1998’s pie attack on Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
What’s more, X users themselves added their own fact check in the form of reader context, with the consensus being that the pie incident was actually a “publicity stunt to advertise for a crypto coin.”
Enron to host ‘power summit’ Jan. 6
According to the Enron website, the corporation will host a “power summit” on Monday, Jan. 6. For those who can’t wait that long, Enron merchandise is available on the corporation’s website, with hoodies emblazoned with the Enron logo (priced at $118).
“The world is ready for growth, transformation and rebirth,” Enron’s return statement reads. “Enron is ready to lead.”
