Some of the largest companies in history have succumbed to financial ruin and had to file bankruptcy. These resulted in the largest bankruptcies in history. WorldCom was one such company. Losing profit fast, and an accounting scandal was the downfall of WorldCom. With 41 billion in debts, the company filed for Chapter 11.
Texico filed for Chapter 11 in 1987 to avoid having to post a multi-billion dollar appeal with its legal fight with Pennzoil. Followed by FCDA in 1988. Then Bank of new England in 1990.
Lehman Brothers were the largest bankruptcy in history with 619 billion in debt, in 2008. The loss of clients and stock hit the company hard. Lehman Brothers were thought to play a significant role in the financial crisis of the late 2000’s. Global Markets plummeted, and system risk was a real threat.
Other Companies that fell victim to financial ruin is Washington Mutual in 2008. After Washington Mutual had filed for Chapter 11, they were promptly delisted from trading on the new york stock exchange and began to trade via pink sheets. General Motors went bankrupt in 2009 as well as CIT. Enron went bankrupt in 2001 because of accounting fraud. Conseco filed Chapter 11 in 2002. Chrysler filed in 2009. These are some of the biggest bankruptcies in history.
Score from the experts at Killer Infographics
Visual Communication - 60%
Design - 65%
Content/Script - 70%
Usability - 65%
65%
Final Grade
This piece offers an overview of "shipwrecked" companies—those that went bankrupt. Organized by year, the piece provides a clear key to the the industry and pre-bankruptcy assets. At times, the organization of the piece can be a bit hard to follow or comprehend quickly, but the elements are in place for a reader to find. The copy is clean and very minimal, which is helpful for a reader to remain invested in the visuals. That said, an unfamiliar reader may not have enough context to understand the significance of the chart. Overall, there's a helpful construct in place to communicate information, though it could benefit from a touch more readability. We'd give this a D.
