According to sources who would know, the Advisory Board had about eight members, not all of whom were pundits. Their most recent meeting, attended by Bill Kristol, was at Enron headquarters in Houston. There tended to be a liberal slot and a conservative slot (Krugman once held the liberal spot). The $50,000 rate was, according to one attendee, “off the charts” in terms of the usual fees paid for speaking. I’d confirm that. A mega-star like Cornel West gets at most $15,000 for a gig. (For talks I’ve given at universities, I get at most half that). $50,000 is Colin Powell moolah. For Kristol, it must have been a big deal. Still no response from Irwin Stelzer, who was the brains behind the enterprise.
FORTUNE’S ENRON PUFFERY: In what must rank as a major embarrassment for Fortune magazine, here’s an Enron press release from last year blaring the news that Fortune christened Enron the most innovative American company for six years in a row. According to the release, “Enron placed No.18 overall on Fortune’s list of the nation’s 535 ‘Most Admired Companies,’ up from No. 36 last year. Enron also ranked among the top five in ‘Quality of Management,’ ‘Quality of Products/Services’ and ‘Employee Talent.'” So as the corruption worsened, a major business magazine actually raised its rating of the place. Go figure. This, recall, was the same magazine in which Paul Krugman wrote his puff piece in 1999. That same year, Fortune named Enron one of the best companies in America to work for. They didn’t mention the 401ks.
The Dish 