Is Ken Lay really broke, as his wife asserted on national televison a month ago? This was an interesting read on asset protection. Mind you, I am not a lawyer or financial planner, so I can not delve into the veracity of the claims.
In February 2000, Mother Jones has learned, the Lays paid about $4 million — an amount greater than Lay’s entire salary from Enron that year — to buy variable annuities that will, starting in 2007, guarantee the couple an annual income of about $900,000. While stocks and most other ordinary investments are open to attack by creditors, life insurance policies and annuities are protected in many states. Variable annuities of the sort purchased by the Lays are basically tax-deferred investments wrapped in insurance policies.