5 Biggest Bankruptcies in American History

In this article we are going to list the 5 biggest bankruptcies in American history. For a detailed coverage of this topic and a more comprehensive list please take a look at the 21 biggest bankruptcies in American history.

5. WorldCom Inc.

Assets at time of bankruptcy (in millions): $103,914

WorldCom, one of the largest bankruptcies in American history, met its demise as a result of a major accounting scandal. The company, which was the second-biggest long-distance telephone company in the U.S. at the time, overstated its assets by more than $11 billion in 2002, resulting in its demise. The WorldCom scandal is one of the reasons why the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed while WorldCom, which was then renamed to MCI, was purchased by Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) in 2008.