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History & recordsEpisode 193Big number0:34
Lehman Brothers: the biggest company collapse in US history
Lehman Brothers' assets in its last report before the September 2008 bankruptcy
0:00 / 0:34
Source: Lehman Brothers 10-Q (SEC), May 2008 · OTS and FDIC releases, 25 Sep 2008 · 31 May 2008 (last report before the 15 Sep 2008 filing)
Narration
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How to read this chart: There is nothing to compare against — read the figure, then the line beneath it, which says what the figure counts and over what period. More on big number charts.
The takeaway
More than twice the size of the next biggest collapse, Washington Mutual.
The data
The numbers
| # | Name | Value |
|---|---|---|
| in assets, last reported in 2008. It owed $613B: about $2,000 per American. | $639,000,000,000 |
How we counted
Lehman's balance sheet at 31 May 2008, its last report before the 15 Sep 2008 filing: assets $639.4bn, liabilities $613.2bn (SEC 10-Q). Washington Mutual Bank, closed by regulators on 25 Sep 2008 with $307bn in assets (OTS, FDIC), is the next biggest; JPMorgan's table says $310bn. WaMu was a seizure, not a bankruptcy filing. Per American: $613.2bn / 304.1M US residents in 2008 (World Bank) = about $2,016.
- US SEC filing (Lehman Brothers 10-Q)Primary sourceLehman Brothers total assets $639,432 million at May 31, 2008
639,432
sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000806085/000110465908045115/a08-18147_110q.htm - US SEC filing (Lehman Brothers 10-Q)Primary sourceLehman Brothers total liabilities $613,156 million at May 31, 2008
613,156
sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0000806085/000110465908045115/a08-18147_110q.htm - NBC News (AP)News reportLehman had assets of $639 billion and debt of $613 billion as of May 31, 2008; filed September 15, 2008, the biggest bankruptcy filing ever
Lehman said that as of May 31, it had assets of $639 billion and debt of $613 billion.
nbcnews.com/news/amp/wbna26716880 - Office of Thrift SupervisionPrimary sourceWashington Mutual Bank, the $307 billion thrift, was acquired by JPMorgan Chase on September 25, 2008
Washington Mutual Bank, the $307 billion thrift institution headquartered in Seattle
occ.treas.gov/static/ots/press-releases/ots-pr-2008-46.pdf - FDICPrimary sourceWashington Mutual Bank and its subsidiary had combined assets of $307 billion; closed September 25, 2008
They have combined assets of $307 billion and total deposits of $188 billion.
archive.fdic.gov/view/fdic/3396/fdic_3396_DS1.pdf - ABC NewsNews reportWashington Mutual had $307 billion in assets; the largest bank failure on record
Washington Mutual had $307 billion in assets compared to Continental's $40 billion
abcnews.com/Business/story?id=5889501 - World BankPrimary sourceUS population 2008: 304,093,966 people (used for debt per American: $613.2 billion / 304.1 million = about $2,016)
304093966
api.worldbank.org/v2/country/USA/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?format=json&date=2008
- Period
- Covering 31 May 2008 (last report before the 15 Sep 2008 filing).
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Source: Lehman Brothers 10-Q (SEC), May 2008 · OTS and FDIC releases, 25 Sep 2008. Covering 31 May 2008 (last report before the 15 Sep 2008 filing).
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Transcript
639 billion dollars. The biggest company collapse in US history.
On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers went bankrupt. The next biggest collapse, Washington Mutual, had 307 billion dollars in assets. Lehman had — 639 billion dollars, more than twice as much. It owed about 2,000 dollars for every American.
Could a company that big fail again? Comment your answer. Then like, share and subscribe. More at numberreels.com.
Source & method
- SourceFigures from Lehman Brothers 10-Q (SEC), May 2008 · OTS and FDIC releases, 25 Sep 2008.
- PeriodCovering 31 May 2008 (last report before the 15 Sep 2008 filing).
- ChartRendered as a big number chart.
- ReuseFree to repost with credit. For broadcast, courses or a watermark-free copy, License this clip.
History & records
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