Corporate downfalls will not occur in one day. They create by inefficiency, corruption, wanton debts, and unbridled ambitions until the whole structure caves in. The big energy traders, including some of the strongest companies in America, have collapsed most dramatically, destroying retirement savings, thousands of jobs, and permanently changing regulators’ and investors’ perception of their corporate accountability in the United States.
Enron’s Freefall
Once worth USD 68 billion, Enron Corporation broke down in December 2001 when billions of dollars in debts were hidden through fraudulent accounting by the top management. The bankruptcy of the Houston-based energy firm was considered the biggest one in US history at that moment, which led to the criminal convictions of the CEO Jeffrey Skilling, and founder Kenneth Lay.
Lehman’s Last Day
On September 15, 2008, the global financial crisis caused the greatest economic depression in the world after all, with the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, which was in hockages over with a debt of 613 billion, the fall of the entire financial system took place. The downfall of the 158-year-old investment Bank brought the world credit markets to a standstill and further propelled the US recession that wiped out 8.7 million US jobs.
Washington Mutual Falls
The biggest savings and loan institution in the U, S with assets amounting to 307 billion, Washington Mutual was taken over by federal regulators in September 2008. WaMu was brought to the edge of destruction with careless lending in the housing bubble, which crumbled,d leading to the wholesale failure of a bank in American history.
Kodak Misses Digital
Eastman Kodak was the first to invent the prototype of a digital camera in 1975, but it declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2012. This leadership of Kodak had continued to focus on safeguarding film revenue, at the expense of investing in the digital transition. As its main business disappeared, the Rochester, New York company reduced its staff by more than 47,000 in the period between 2003 and 2012.
Toys R Us Closes
In September 2017, Toys R Us petitioned for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and sold all 735 stores in the US by June 2018, which killed about 33,000 American jobs. In 2005, a leveraged takeover saddled the retailer with 5 billion dollars of debt, which could not compete against the aggressive pricing practices of Amazon and Walmart.
Sears Unravels
The former biggest retailer in America, Sears Holdings, was declared in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2018 and had 11.34 billion in liabilities. Sears had more than 3,500 stores in the US when it was at its height. Years in which the company liquidated its assets under the leadership of CEO Eddie Lampert, along with chronic underinvestment in stores and e-commerce, contributed to the terminal decline of the company.
Blockbuster’s Blindspot
Currently undergoing bankruptcy, Blockbuster Video, which had 9,000 stores in the United States, reached its peak with 9,000 stores, and entered bankruptcy in September 2010 with a debt of $900 million. Its most famous embodiment was in 2000 when the company refused a chance to buy Netflix to purchase it at an estimated cost of 50 million dollars, which is currently referredto as one of the most expensive firms to ever have been acquired in American retailing history.
FTX Implodes
In November 2022, based on revelations of misappropriation of about $8 billion in customer funds, cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which was started by Sam Bankman-Fried, imploded. At some point worth billions of dollars, the collapse of FTX wiped out investors investing in the company on a retail level in the United States and sparked a congressional investigation into the whole cryptocurrency business.
SVB’s Rapid End
The case of the Silicon Valley Bank, which had a history of 40 years of service to more than 50% of venture-backed technology startups in the US, collapsed within a span of 48 hours in March 2023. The second-largest bank run in the history of America was a bank run that happened due to increasing losses in interest rates on its long-term bond investment. This leads to an FDIC seizure.
