Bernard Ebbers

Ebbers was born in Edmonton, Alberta, the second of five children of Kathleen and John Ebbers, a traveling salesman. His family were devout Christians.

When Ebbers was young, the family moved to California and later lived for a while on a mission post on a Navajo Nation Indian reservation in New Mexico before moving back to Canada when Ebbers was a teenager.

After high school, Ebbers briefly attended the University of Alberta and Calvin College before enrolling at Mississippi College on a basketball scholarship. Between schools, he worked as a milkman and bouncer. An injury before his senior season prevented him from playing his final year and he was instead assigned to coach the junior varsity team. In 1967, he received a Bachelor's degree in physical education, with an academic minor in secondary education, from Mississippi College.

Ebbers began his business career operating a chain of motels in Mississippi.

In 1983, following a meeting at a coffee shop in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Murray Waldron wrote a business plan for selling low-cost, long-distance phone service on a napkin. Ebbers and a group of investors raised $650,000 to form Long Distance Discount Services, Inc. In 1985, he was named CEO. The company acquired over 60 telecommunications firms and in 1995, it changed its name to WorldCom.

In 1996, WorldCom acquired MFS Communications (originally Metropolitan Fiber Systems) and in July 1998, it acquired MCI Communications. In July 2000, it abandoned its planned $115 billion acquisition of Sprint Corporation after U.S. and European Union antitrust regulators raised objections.

Between September 2000 and April 2002, the board of directors of Worldcom authorized several loans and loan guarantees to Ebbers so that he would not have to sell his Worldcom shares to meet margin calls as the share price plummeted during the bursting of the dot-com bubble. By April 2002, Ebbers had lost substantial support on the board due to these loans. Additionally, a number of directors believed Ebbers had not charted a way forward after the Sprint merger collapsed. On April 26, Worldcom's board voted unanimously to demand that Ebbers resign, which he formally did on April 30, 2002. As part of his departure, his loans were consolidated into a single $408.2 million promissory note. In 2003, Ebbers defaulted on the note and Worldcom foreclosed on many of his assets.

Marriages

In 1968, Ebbers married Linda Pigott and the couple raised three daughters. Ebbers filed for divorce in July 1997 and married his second wife, Kristie Webb, in the spring of 1999. She filed for divorce on April 16, 2008, approximately a year and half after he entered prison.

Personal holdings

At his peak in early 1999, Ebbers was worth an estimated $1.4 billion and listed as 174th on the Forbes 400. His personal holdings included:

Douglas Lake Canada's biggest ranch – 500,000 acres (2,000 km2) in British Columbia. General partner/president. Acquired in 1998 for about $65 million. Sold on May 30, 2003, by MCI to E. Stanley Kroenke.

Angelina Plantation – 21,000 acres (85 km2) farm in Monterey, Louisiana. Co-owner with brother, John Ebbers. Acquired in 1998.

Joshua Holdings – which combined with Joshua Timberlands and Joshua Timber totals 540,000 acres (2,200 km2) of timberlands in Mississippi, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama. Majority owner. Acquired properties in 1999 for about $600 million.

Pine Ridge Farm – Livestock and crop farm in Mississippi. Owner. LLC formed in 1997.

Columbus Lumber – High-tech lumber mill in Brookhaven, Mississippi. Majority owner since at least 1996.

Yachts – BCT Holdings, owner of Intermarine, a yacht building and repair company in Georgia. Primary owner. Intermarine acquired in 1998 for about $14 million.

Hotels – Nine hotels in Mississippi and Tennessee: Co-owner or owner. Acquired over many years.

Trucking – KLLM, a trucking firm in Mississippi. Director. Acquired with partner in 2000 for about $30 million. Was at one point led by K. William Grothe, who was an executive at WorldCom.

Sports – Mississippi Indoor Sports/Jackson Bandits, a minor league hockey team. 50% owner. Acquired in 1999. Sold stake in September 2003.

Criminal charges and verdict

On August 27, 2003, Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson filed a 15-count indictment against Ebbers. The indictment charged that he violated securities laws by defrauding investors on multiple occasions between January 2001 and March 2002. On November 20, 2003, the charges by Oklahoma were dropped, with the right to refile retained, to defer to federal charges.

On March 2, 2004, federal authorities indicted Ebbers on securities fraud and conspiracy charges. On May 25, 2004, federal prosecutors increased the list of charges to 9 felonies: 1 count each of conspiracy and securities fraud, and 7 counts of filing false statements with securities regulators. On March 15, 2005, Ebbers was found guilty of all charges. On March 30, 2005, an agreement to extend the statute of limitations on the charges from Oklahoma was signed, allowing Oklahoma prosecutors time to see the results of federal sentencing.