Famous Bankruptcies & Business Collapses
Famous Bankruptcies is a structured business dataset with 20 entries. Its fields include Company, Year, Industry. The source values are preserved as a structured reference table.
Every row is shown below and is also available as CSV, JSON, or Excel.
Dataset details
- Table scope
- All 20 rows
- Fields
- 6 columns
- Source
- Not provided
- Data updated
- Not provided
Included fields: Company, Year, Industry, Peak Value, Cause, and 1 more.
The table contains every record in this dataset; the same records are available in each download format.
Preview observations
- Year span
- 1991 to 2023
- Across 20 preview rows
Useful for
- Comparing Company, Year, and Industry across business entries
- Building reference tables, charts, or analyses from 20 downloadable records
Company↕ | Year↕ | Industry↕ | Peak Value↕ | Cause↕ | Known For↕ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lehman Brothers | 2008 | Investment Banking | $691B assets | Subprime mortgage exposure, overleveraged | Largest bankruptcy in US history, triggered 2008 financial crisis |
Enron | 2001 | Energy | $65B | Massive accounting fraud, off-balance-sheet entities | Biggest corporate fraud scandal, led to Sarbanes-Oxley Act |
WorldCom | 2002 | Telecommunications | $175B market cap | Accounting fraud inflating assets by $11B | Second-largest bankruptcy at the time, CEO jailed |
General Motors | 2009 | Automotive | $56B revenue | Declining sales, pension liabilities, 2008 recession | Largest industrial bankruptcy ever, government bailout |
Washington Mutual | 2008 | Banking | $327B assets | Subprime mortgage losses, bank run | Largest bank failure in US history, acquired by JPMorgan |
Wirecard | 2020 | Fintech | $24B market cap | Fabricated $2.1B in cash balances | Germany's biggest post-war corporate fraud |
FTX | 2022 | Cryptocurrency | $32B valuation | Misuse of customer funds, fraud | Sam Bankman-Fried convicted, crypto credibility crisis |
Theranos | 2018 | Healthcare Tech | $9B valuation | Fraudulent blood-testing technology | Elizabeth Holmes convicted, Silicon Valley cautionary tale |
Toys R Us | 2017 | Retail | $11B revenue | Leveraged buyout debt, Amazon competition | Childhood brand killed by private equity debt |
Blockbuster | 2010 | Entertainment | 9,000 stores | Failed to adapt to streaming | Turned down buying Netflix for $50M |
Pan Am | 1991 | Aviation | World's largest airline | Lockerbie bombing, fuel costs, deregulation | Defined the jet age, ceased after 64 years |
Kodak | 2012 | Photography | $31B market cap | Failed film-to-digital transition | Invented the technology that killed them |
Bear Stearns | 2008 | Investment Banking | $20B market cap | Subprime hedge fund collapse | First Wall Street casualty of 2008, sold at $2/share |
Sears | 2018 | Retail | Largest US retailer (1980s) | Underinvestment, asset stripping, Amazon | Sears catalog pioneered mail-order retail |
Silicon Valley Bank | 2023 | Banking | $209B assets | Interest rate risk, Twitter-fueled bank run | Collapsed in 48 hours, fastest bank run ever |
Arthur Andersen | 2002 | Accounting | Big Five firm | Shredding Enron documents | 85,000 employees lost jobs, firm destroyed |
Nortel Networks | 2009 | Telecom | $250B market cap | Dot-com bust, accounting scandal | Was Canada's most valuable company |
Swissair | 2002 | Aviation | Flying Bank of Switzerland | Aggressive expansion, 9/11 aftermath | Grounded entire fleet overnight |
Credit Suisse | 2023 | Banking | $90B market cap | Archegos losses, Greensill scandal | 167-year-old bank, emergency UBS merger |
Chrysler | 2009 | Automotive | $48B revenue | Cash crunch during recession | Merged with Fiat post-bankruptcy |
Free to explore · No signup needed
Frequently asked questions
How is Famous Bankruptcies & Business Collapses organized?
The table starts in the source data's default order. You can sort and filter the loaded rows by the displayed fields.
How much data is available on this page?
This dataset contains 20 entries, and every row is available in the table and in the downloadable files.
Can I download the complete dataset?
Yes. CSV, JSON, and Excel downloads contain all 20 rows. Before republishing the data, review the source and any usage terms listed on this page; dtbse does not replace the original source's licensing terms.
Related Datasets
More in Business
Largest Banks in the World
The world's largest banks by total assets.
Pakistani Banks
Top 15 banks in Pakistan ranked by total assets with type, founding year, headquarters, and branch count.
Iconic Corporate Headquarters
Apple Park, Googleplex, Tencent Seafront, BMW Welt - which corporate campus is the biggest flex of all?
US Retirement Accounts
401(k), Roth IRA, SEP, SIMPLE, 403(b), HSA - which tax-advantaged wrapper actually fits your plan?
Biggest Corporate Bankruptcies
Lehman Brothers, WorldCom, Enron, General Motors - which corporate collapse shook the economy hardest?
Biggest Corporate Scandals
Enron, Theranos, FTX, WeWork, Wirecard - which corporate fraud was the most outrageous betrayal?
Types of Loans
Mortgage, auto, personal, student, payday, HELOC - which debt product is reasonable and which is a trap?
Types of Business Meetings
Daily standups, retros, all-hands, 1:1s, town halls - which meeting is the most soul-crushing waste of time?
Types of Corporate Entities
LLC, S-Corp, C-Corp, sole prop, B-Corp, nonprofit - which legal structure actually fits your business?
Types of Bonds
Treasuries, munis, corporates, junk, TIPS, savings - which fixed income wrapper actually pays in the current environment?
Notorious Corporate Jargon
Synergy, low-hanging fruit, circle back, blue-sky - which buzzword is the most overused in your Monday standup?
Supermarket Chains
Major supermarket and grocery retail chains worldwide with store counts, revenue, and distinguishing features.