Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers' 2008 bankruptcy was the largest in US history, with $639 billion in assets — nearly double Enron's collapse. The 158-year-old investment bank's excessive exposure to subprime mortgage securities triggered the global financial crisis. Its failure froze credit markets worldwide, contributed to the loss of 8.7 million US jobs, and sparked $700 billion in US government bailouts for other institutions. No executives faced criminal charges.