Forbes.com: Enron Execs Got $55 Million Just Before Bankruptcy Enron Execs Got $55 Million Just Before Bankruptcy

Neil Weinberg and Lynn Cook, Forbes.com, 12.05.01, 4:36 PM ET

NEW YORK – Enron paid out $55 million in bonuses to executives and other employees two days prior to filing for bankruptcy, the company confirmed today. A total of 500 employees received bonuses.

“In order to protect and maintain the value of the estate, we wanted to retain key employees in critical businesses,” said Mark Palmer, an Enron (nyse: ENE – news – people) spokesman.

The so-called “stay-on” payments were made Nov. 29 in exchange for select employees’ agreeing to remain at Enron for 90 days. Enron filed for restructuring Dec. 2 in the biggest bankruptcy filing in history. Enron has $50 billion in assets and booked $101 billion in sales last year.

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See here. Not everybody loses in these big bankruptcy deals!!