Biggest bankruptcies of the past 35 years
Biggest bankruptcies of the past 35 years
When a company finds itself unable to pay its creditors, it may have no other alternative but to file for bankruptcy. This process is designed to help organizations pay off their debts under the supervision of a federal court.
Contrary to popular belief, filing for bankruptcy doesn't always spell financial ruin for a company. In fact, many successful corporations and brands have filed as a way to reorganize their assets and pay off outstanding debts. are just a few companies that have managed to bounce back after filing for bankruptcy. Still, reorganization under Chapter 11 is a dangerous gambit鈥.
Considering that , 麻豆原创 looked at the to discover why companies went bankrupt and how many of their employees fared after the fact. For many of the companies on the list, large-scale crises like the housing bubble of 2007 or the economic recession of 2009 served as catalysts for ruin. Other companies failed due to human hubris, corrupt accounting practices, and mega miscalculations.
Read on for a history of the 20 biggest bankruptcies of the last three and a half decades.
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#1. Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc.
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $691.1 billion
Bankruptcy date: Sept. 15, 2008
At the time of its collapse, A number of contributing factors led to its tumble including miscalculating the risks posed by rising home delinquencies after the housing boom of 2007. Former is now the chief executive at Matrix Private Capital Group. Former COO serves as the chairman of the Bond Market Association.
#2. Washington Mutual
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $327.9 billion
Bankruptcy date: Sept. 26, 2008
Washington Mutual, a conservative savings and loan bank, . Its demise was due to a number of factors including the housing crisis in 2007, rapid branch expansion, the collapse of the secondary market for mortgage-backed securities, and the fallout from Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy. Today, former CEO .
#3. WorldCom, Inc.
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $103.9 billion
Bankruptcy date: July 21, 2002
WorldCom, once the second largest long-distance carrier in the United States, CEO Bernard Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in prison for nine counts of conspiracy securities fraud and making false regulatory filings. The company rebranded in 2004 as MCI Inc.
#4. General Motors
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $82.3 billion
Bankruptcy date: June 1, 2009
, declining market share, and a seismic drop in sales. Despite $19.4 billion in federal aid, the iconic automaker could not shift gears to avoid bankruptcy. The government poured another $30 billion into GM to fund operations during its reorganization. is on the board of directors of ChargePoint and recently invested in a startup called YourMechanic.
#5. Pacific Gas & Electric
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $71.4 billion
Bankruptcy date: Jan. 29, 2019
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), one of the largest power providers the U.S., in a California court. The company provides most of the electricity and natural gas to millions of residents in Northern and Central California. The filing comes as PG&E faces extensive legal liabilities related to the recent deadly fires that devastated many parts of the state
#6. CIT Group
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $71 billion
Bankruptcy date: Jan. 11, 2009
The company provides key financing and advisory services to businesses in the retail industry. CIT serves as a rare example of a company that made good on bankruptcy proceedings鈥攊t paid off and refinanced debt, built assets, moved past regulatory restrictions, and . Former CEO and serves as
#7. Enron Corp.
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $65.5 billion
Bankruptcy date: Dec. 2, 2001
, crashed in 2001 thanks to CEO Jeffrey Skilling's creative market-to-market accounting that inflated income by around $586 million over a four-year period. Its stock鈥攙alued at a high of $90.56 in 2000鈥攃losed at just 26 cents a share when it filed bankruptcy. but he was recently relocated to a halfway house. The documentary 鈥" chronicled the full story of Enron's downfall.
#8. Conseco, Inc.
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $61.4 billion
Bankruptcy date: Dec. 17, 2002
At the time it filed for Chapter 11, U.S. insurance and finance company Company founder Stephen Hilbert was removed after accumulating $8.2 billion in debt. Hilbert has spent over a decade in the biotech world and currently . Today, Conseco is known as and positions itself as 鈥渕iddle America's valued security partner.鈥
#9. MF Global
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $41 billion
Bankruptcy date: Aug. 11, 2011
After MF Global invested and used over to cover its losses, the commodity brokerage firm declared bankruptcy. Its ousted CEO Jon Corzine went on to become chief of Goldman Sachs and later served as senator and governor of New Jersey.
#10. Chrysler
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $39.3 billion
Bankruptcy date: April 30, 2009
Automaker Chrysler was on the allowed it to shift gears to survival. Ex-CEO Tom LaSorda founded and is the and the LaSorda Group. He also co-founded Stage 2 Innovations, a $100 million investment fund. He recently launched a
#11. Thornburg Mortgage
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $36.5 billion
Bankruptcy date: Jan. 5, 2009
After the jumbo mortgage provider filed Chapter 11, it rebranded as TMST and ultimately liquidated its assets. Former of trying to hide the company's failing financial condition and inflating the company's income by more than $420 million in 2007, but the charges were dropped.
#12. Pacific Gas and Electric Co.
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $36.2 billion
Bankruptcy date: June 4, 2001
The Pacific Gas and Electric Company filed for Now, have rekindled fears of another bankruptcy. Former chairman Robert D. Glynn Jr. received $17 million, and Gordon Smith, who ran the utility unit, received $10 million.
#13. Texaco
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $34.9 billion
Bankruptcy date: Dec. 4, 1987
in damages stemming from a previous agreement. Texaco paid Pennzoil $3 billion and emerged from bankruptcy to later become part of Chevron.
#14. Financial Corp of America
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $33.9 billion
Bankruptcy date: Sept. 9, 1988
the Financial Corp. of America declared bankruptcy. The tumble happened during the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s. A year later the .
#15. Refco
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $33.3 billion
Bankruptcy date: Oct. 17, 2005
CEO and chairman Phillip R. Bennett was accused of hiding $430 million worth of bad debts and using company funds to pay them.
#16. IndyMac Bancorp
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $32.7 billion
Bankruptcy date: July 31, 2008
and bank run due to the end of the housing boom and looming economic slump. based on goals and performance. In 2007, Indy had more than 11,000 employees. Within two years Indy had 2,000 employees and around 700 contractors.
#17. Global Crossing
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $30.2 billion
Bankruptcy date: Jan. 28, 2002
International telecommunications company Global Crossing, whose market value once eclipsed General Motors, filed Chapter 11 because it was unable to support the weight of $12 billion in debt in a plummeting world economy. Founder before the company collapsed, leaving many employees missing significant portions of their 401(k) funds.
#18. Bank of New England
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $29.8 billion
Bankruptcy date: July 1, 1991
led to bankruptcy for Bank of New England and its sister banks, Maine National Bank and Connecticut Bank and Trust. The trio had assets totaling $21.8 billion and deposits worth $19 billion. pomposity was cited for the failure that affected thousands of employees, bond and stockholders.
#19. General Growth Properties
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $29.6 billion
Bankruptcy date: Apr. 16, 2009
Chicago-based General Growth Properties . when it filed for Chapter 11 protection. During the transition, . A year and a half later, GGP The company was acquired in early 2018 by Brookfield Property Partners.
#20. Lyondell Chemical
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $27.4 billion
Bankruptcy date: June 1, 2009
Lyondell Chemical, one of the world's largest privately held chemical makers, . A dramatic dip in demand and extreme volatility in costs of raw materials were among the reasons it filed for Chapter 11 protection. Today LyondellBasell . The company has about 13,000 employees worldwide.
#21. Calpine
Total assets pre-bankruptcy: $27.2 billion
Bankruptcy date: Dec. 20, 2005
forced power plant operator Calpine to seek Chapter 11. It to begin a new chapter in its history, and today
