In case you've missed it, CNBC's American Greed series is one of the best new television shows to come out in awhile. Each 1-hour episode looks at two scams, cons, and schemes, featuring interviews with victims, participants, and law enforcement. It's a great look at the psychology of white collar crime and, even better, it's entertaining.
The show has mostly focused on small, relatively unknown ponzi schemes, art heists, and con games but that's going to change this week. On Wednesday at 9:00 PM ET, American Greed will feature a profile of the "WorldCom scam," which, with $107 billion in assets, was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, nearly twice as big as Enron.
I'm looking forward to the WorldCom profile, partly because there's been a discrepancy in the amount of media coverage it's gotten compared with the smaller Enron. Partly this is because Skilling and Co. beat Worldcom to the punch by about seven months. But the story of WorldCom also seems to lack the Greek tragedy elements of Enron.
Hopefully the CNBC special will provide look at WorldCom that is compelling on a human level, something none of the coverage of it so far has really done.
The show has mostly focused on small, relatively unknown ponzi schemes, art heists, and con games but that's going to change this week. On Wednesday at 9:00 PM ET, American Greed will feature a profile of the "WorldCom scam," which, with $107 billion in assets, was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history, nearly twice as big as Enron.
I'm looking forward to the WorldCom profile, partly because there's been a discrepancy in the amount of media coverage it's gotten compared with the smaller Enron. Partly this is because Skilling and Co. beat Worldcom to the punch by about seven months. But the story of WorldCom also seems to lack the Greek tragedy elements of Enron.
Hopefully the CNBC special will provide look at WorldCom that is compelling on a human level, something none of the coverage of it so far has really done.
Will Rich Ross really have a positive impact on Disney's movie operations?
Consumers sick of recession, may spend extra on holidays
Corrections, seasonality and Santa Claus
