Recently The Consumerist listed the Top 10 Chapter 11 Bankruptcies in the United States, and it provides some very interesting insight into just how big the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy is when compared to infamous companies such as Enron and Worldcom. We will be reading books and hearing dissection of this fiasco for years to come. The top ten list of chapter 11 bankruptcies below is very interesting. Chapter 11 bankruptcies allow a company to reorganize itself and emerge still intact as a company. On the other hand, Chapter 7 bankruptcies are a complete liquidation of the company who does not reconstitute itself. I’ll be honest with you, I had to look up some of these companies that I was not familiar with and I have included little descriptions of them for you.
10. United Airlines
Assets: $25.2 billion
Date Filed: Dec. 9, 2002
9. Pacific Gas and Electric
Assets: $29.8 billion
Date Filed: April 6, 2001
8. Global Crossing (a telecommunications company that provides computer networking services worldwide)
Assets: $30.2 billion
Date Filed: Jan. 28, 2002
7. Refco (a New York-based financial services company, primarily known as a broker of commodities and futures contracts)
Assets: $33.3 billion
Date Filed: Oct. 17, 2005
6. Financial Corp. of America (the former holding company for the American Savings and Loan Association)
Assets: $33.9 billion
Date Filed: Sept. 9, 1988
5. Texaco
Assets: $35.9 billion
Date Filed: April 12, 1987
4. Conseco (a financial services organization which basically sells insurance and annuities)
Assets: $61.4 billion
Date Filed: Dec. 18, 2002
3. Enron
Assets: $63.4 billion
Date Filed: Dec. 2, 2001
2. Worldcom (a telecommunications company focusing on long distance and internet services)
Assets: $103.9 billion
Date Filed: July 21, 2002
1. Lehman Brothers
Pre-Bankruptcy Assets: $639 billion
Date Filed: Sept. 15, 2008
The Top 10 Biggest Bankruptcy Cases in the History of the US (In Today’s Dollars at 3% Inflation):
10. United Airlines – $30.1 billion
9. Pacific Gas and Electric – $36.6 billion
8. Global Crossing – $36.1 billion
7. Refco – $36.4 billion
6. Financial Corp. of America – $61.2 billion
5. Texaco – $66.78 billion
4. Conseco – $73.3 billion
3. Enron – $77.9 billion
2. Worldcom – $124.0 billion
1. Lehman Brothers – $639 billion
{ 1 comment }
Totally crazy, right? man…i just can’t wait until it’s all cleaned up a bit and those crazy investors calm down 😉 Although, i’m not complaining about the low prices out there for my 401k!
Comments on this entry are closed.