WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- In perhaps a historical footnote to the end of the dot-com era, Henry Blodget the chief Internet business analyst of Merrill Lynch (NYSE:MER) & Co., who predicted much of the rise of the dot-coms, but, alas, not their fall in time, officially left Monday after three years with the company.

He leaves with an estimated $5 million severance package.

The 35-year-old Blodget's tenure was alternately brilliant and controversial, with many of his picks making riches for Merrill clients and allied Net-stock followers, but in the end loosing many people much money as well. In the final tally, a majority of the 20 or so stocks he covered suffered a collapse of varying severity.

In the wake of the dot-com shakeout that mauled investors and smashed many a start-up, many were left floundering such now fading from memory names as Pets.com (remember the singing Sock Puppet), eToys and Webvan, which had been in the Blodget portfolio of coverage.

But things weren't always so bad.