The Top 10 Biggest Bankruptcies In American History
Posted March 20, 2018 12:06:22Bankruptcies have been going on for more than a decade now, and the number of bankruptcies has risen steadily for the past several years.
But with more than $9 trillion in debt, there’s more than enough blame to go around.
In fact, we ranked the 10 biggest financial crises of all time, starting with the worst.
Here are the 10 most destructive financial collapses, according to The American Institute for Economic Research.
1.
Enron Enron, which had $30 trillion in assets, was the biggest failure of all.
Enrons collapse came during the financial crisis of ’09, when it was discovered that the company had used insider trading to gain an unfair advantage over rivals.
Enzo Ferrari, the CEO, was fired, and Enron filed for bankruptcy in December ’09.
The company went bankrupt in April ’11.
Enrico Fermi, the former boss of Enron’s investment banking division, died in June ’11 at the age of 93.
The Enron collapse was blamed on “mismanagement, greed and arrogance” and “the failure to make strategic and operational decisions to avoid a collapse.”
Enron was one of the largest corporations in history.
It employed nearly 4 million people and had $1.3 trillion in profits in 2010.
The financial collapse came after the company’s stock was trading at a premium because of the market’s belief that Enron could avoid bankruptcy by reducing the number and severity of its legal and regulatory compliance requirements.
The failure is often blamed on the “lack of a clear vision” of how the company should be run.
Enos collapse came just as the company was getting ready to pay off a $1 billion debt it had taken out in 2003.
The deal was done to avoid bankruptcy.
Enormous debt Enron is the largest corporation in history with more assets than the rest of the world combined.
It was founded in 1970 by a group of former Wall Street bankers who used money they’d made in investment banking to buy up companies and then use that money to buy their own.
Enzos debt was nearly $4 trillion, making it the biggest debt in the world, and it had accumulated huge amounts of debt since its founding.
The Wall Street Journal estimated that the debt was about $50 trillion at the time of the Enron disaster.
In 2010, Enron declared bankruptcy and sold off $8 billion worth of Enzos stock.
In 2013, the company declared bankruptcy again, this time for $12.5 billion.
In 2015, it announced that it would continue to pay $14.5 million to settle its debts.
2.
JP Morgan Chase Chase The largest bank in the U.S., JP Morgan has been in trouble for some time.
JP was once the biggest bank in America.
But in 2014, its board was ousted and the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
JP’s problems began when its CEO, Jamie Dimon, became a major figure in the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Dimon was accused of manipulating interest rates to boost profits.
Dimons actions have been called a “money grab” and a “crime against humanity.”
JP was one the largest banks in the country.
The bank had a market value of $1,947 billion.
The crisis began when it lost $1 trillion in deposits.
In March 2015, the bank went bankrupt.
In 2016, it declared bankruptcy once again, and sold $7.5 trillion worth of shares.
3.
JP Merrill Chase JP was another big bank.
In 2008, JP Merrill, founded by the legendary investment banker Bernard L. Madoff, became the largest bank of its kind in the United States.
In 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to securities fraud, a charge he received after pleading guilty to insider trading in the 1980s.
JP became the target of numerous criminal investigations by federal prosecutors.
The FBI launched a multi-year investigation into Madoff’s activities.
In December 2010, Mad.off was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and he was pardoned by President Obama in January 2011.
The firm went bankrupt and was sold to private equity firm Blackstone in 2012.
In July 2017, the firm was purchased by JPMorgan Chase.
4.
Citigroup Citigroup has had a long history of financial problems.
In 2014, the agency announced that Citigroup was under investigation for a “lax” compliance and accounting system, among other problems.
Citibank was one one of just three U.K. banks that were bailed out during the global financial crisis.
It also was one that was hit hard during the recession.
In 2011, the U.,S.
and UK governments reached a $700 billion settlement with Citigroup.
In 2012, Citigroup agreed to pay more than 100 million customers over its mortgage and credit card business, including millions in back taxes.
5.
JPMorgan Chase