Business failures, costly decisions and the lessons they leave behind.
The full archive, in the appNeiman Marcus, the iconic luxury retailer, was loaded with $6B in debt by a 2013 private equity buyout. It filed for bankruptcy in 2020 during the pandemic.
Read the caseResearcher Dong-Pyou Han spiked rabbit blood samples with human antibodies to fake HIV vaccine results. He was sentenced to 57 months in prison in 2015.
Read the caseSamsung suppressed labor unions for decades. In 2020, vice chairman Lee Jae-yong was indicted for union-busting. He apologized publicly.
Read the caseAMC's stock rose 2,800% in 2021 as retail investors squeezed shorts. AMC issued $2.5B in new shares at peak prices, diluting existing holders.
Read the caseCountry Garden, once China's largest property developer, defaulted on $300B+ in liabilities in 2023. The collapse deepened China's property crisis.
Read the caseDebenhams, founded in 1778, went into liquidation in 2021 after 243 years. Online competition, high rents and private equity debt killed the 165-store chain.
Read the caseLastPass was breached in August and November 2022. The second breach exposed encrypted password vaults. Users were told to change all passwords.
Read the caseMacy's, the iconic American department store, announced the closure of 150 stores as online shopping and changing consumer habits eroded the format.
Read the caseIn 1981, Karl Illmensee claimed to have cloned mice. The data was fabricated. The paper was retracted, and the field was set back 15 years.
Read the caseHis 1961 letter on thalidomide was right and made his name. Two decades later he manipulated data in a Debendox paper, and his co-authors reported him.
Read the caseBill Gross managed the $293B Total Return Fund. His abrasive style drove out key talent. He was forced out in 2014. The fund bled $100B+ in assets.
Read the caseBarneys, the iconic luxury department store, filed for bankruptcy in 1996 and again in 2019. High rent, online competition and private equity debt killed it.
Read the caseRay Dalio's Bridgewater recorded all meetings, required public criticism and ranked employees in real time. The culture drove 30% annual turnover.
Read the caseFirst Republic was known for serving wealthy clients with low-risk loans. But SVB's collapse triggered a $100B deposit flight. JPMorgan bought it for $10.6B.
Read the caseKansai Airport, opened in 1994 on an artificial island in Osaka Bay, has sunk over 12 meters. The $20B project was the most expensive airport ever built.
Read the caseUCSD researcher Robert Slutsky published a paper every 10 days for 7 years. An investigation found most were fabricated. 130 papers were questioned.
Read the caseSVB invested deposits in long-term bonds. When rates rose, the bonds lost value. A tweet-triggered bank run drained $42B in one day. Collapsed in 48 hours.
Read the caseIn 2021, whistleblower Frances Haugen leaked internal research showing Facebook knew Instagram harmed teens and its algorithms amplified division.
Read the caseHP CEO Carly Fiorina pushed the $25B Compaq acquisition in 2002 against shareholder opposition. The merger underdelivered, and the board fired her in 2005.
Read the caseIn November 2023, OpenAI's board fired CEO Sam Altman. 95% of employees threatened to leave. Microsoft offered to hire them all. Altman was rehired in 5 days.
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