Overview

Bethany McLean was a Fortune magazine reporter who in March 2001 published the article "Is Enron Overpriced?", the first major piece of journalism to publicly question the financial health of what was then the seventh-largest company in America. McLean, a former Goldman Sachs investment banking analyst, noticed that Enron could not explain how it actually made money despite its enormous stated revenues. When she called CEO Jeffrey Skilling for comment, he called her "unethical" for asking the question. Her article planted the seed that led to the unraveling of the largest corporate fraud in American history at that time. She later co-authored "The Smartest Guys in the Room" (2003) with Peter Elkind, the definitive account of the Enron scandal, which became a bestseller and was adapted into an Oscar-nominated documentary. McLean went on to become a contributing editor at Vanity Fair and authored "All the Devils Are Here" (2010, with Joe Nocera) about the 2008 financial crisis and "Shaky Ground" (2015) about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. She is widely regarded as one of the most important financial journalists of her generation.

Key Affiliations

Controversies & Concerns

Related Investigations (1)

Known Associates & Connections

Sources & Documentation

3 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports