87 Famous Bankruptcies Trivia Questions with Answers

87 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which U.S. baked-goods company filed for bankruptcy in January 2012 and became known for Twinkies?

Answer

Hostess Brands

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which cryptocurrency exchange filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 after customer withdrawals surged?

Answer

FTX

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American airline entered bankruptcy in 1992 and was later acquired by American Airlines in 2001?

Answer

TWA

Hard Hard difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which Brazilian airline filed for bankruptcy protection in 2005 after becoming Latin America’s largest airline?

Answer

Varig

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which Indian airline filed for bankruptcy in 2019 after suspending all flights?

Answer

Jet Airways

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which Swiss airline entered bankruptcy in October 2001 after the collapse of its parent group?

Answer

Swissair

Hard Hard difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which comic-book publisher filed for bankruptcy in 1996 after expanding through acquisitions and taking on heavy debt?

Answer

Marvel Entertainment

Hard Hard difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which automobile manufacturer filed for bankruptcy in 2011 after failing to recover from Saab’s financial problems?

Answer

Saab Automobile

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which U.S. retailer filed for bankruptcy in 2002 after expanding from a discount store into a nationwide chain?

Answer

Kmart

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American automobile company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2009 and was later sold to a new company?

Answer

General Motors

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American department-store chain filed for bankruptcy in 1992 after the collapse of its leveraged expansion?

Answer

Macy’s

Hard Hard difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American supermarket chain filed for bankruptcy in 2010 after operating for more than 150 years?

Answer

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company

Hard Hard difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which U.S. steel company filed for bankruptcy in 2001 after becoming a symbol of industrial decline?

Answer

Bethlehem Steel

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which Canadian telecommunications company sought bankruptcy protection in 2009 after a decade of expansion and debt?

Answer

Nortel Networks

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which railroad company’s 1970 bankruptcy was the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history at the time?

Answer

Penn Central

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American film studio filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010 after years of financial losses?

Answer

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American bookstore chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2011 after losing ground to online retailers?

Answer

Borders

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American savings and loan holding company filed for bankruptcy in 2008 after the collapse of its banking subsidiary?

Answer

Washington Mutual

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which online pet-supplies retailer became a famous dot-com bankruptcy in November 2000?

Answer

Pets.com

Hard Hard difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American department-store chain filed for bankruptcy in October 2018 after more than a century in business?

Answer

Sears

Hard Hard difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which Italian food company entered extraordinary administration in December 2003 after a multibillion-euro accounting scandal?

Answer

Parmalat

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which British fashion retailer entered administration in November 2020 after collapsing during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Answer

Arcadia Group

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which photography company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2012?

Answer

Eastman Kodak

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which toy retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September 2017?

Answer

Toys "R" Us

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which British merchant bank collapsed in 1995 after rogue trader Nick Leeson’s losses?

Answer

Barings Bank

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American airline filed for bankruptcy in 1991 after fuel-price shocks and the Gulf War?

Answer

Pan Am

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which U.S. commodities brokerage filed for bankruptcy in 2011 after unauthorized transfers of customer funds?

Answer

MF Global

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2018 after years of declining sales and heavy debt?

Answer

Sears Holdings

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which animation studio founded by Walt Disney filed for bankruptcy in 1923 after producing the Alice Comedies?

Answer

Laugh-O-Gram Studio

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American pizza restaurant chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2011?

Answer

Sbarro

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which Atlantic City casino, opened by Donald Trump in 1990, filed for bankruptcy in 1991?

Answer

Trump Taj Mahal

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which instant-camera company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October 2001?

Answer

Polaroid

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which space company founded by Richard Branson filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2023?

Answer

Virgin Orbit

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American home-goods retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2008?

Answer

The Sharper Image

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American insurance company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2002 after rapid expansion through acquisitions?

Answer

Conseco

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which British department-store chain entered administration in 2020 after more than 140 years in business?

Answer

Debenhams

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which cryptocurrency lender filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2022 after freezing customer withdrawals?

Answer

Celsius Network

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which German airline filed for insolvency in August 2017 and ceased operations two months later?

Answer

Air Berlin

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which Japanese airline filed for bankruptcy protection in January 2010 and later rebuilt under state-backed management?

Answer

Japan Airlines

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American amusement-park operator filed for bankruptcy in 2009 during the global financial crisis?

Answer

Six Flags

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American airline filed for bankruptcy in 2002 and later merged with Continental Airlines?

Answer

United Airlines

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which U.S. telecommunications company filed for bankruptcy in 2002 after an accounting scandal involving billions of dollars?

Answer

WorldCom

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American coworking company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2023 after expanding globally?

Answer

WeWork

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American cosmetics company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2022 after carrying billions of dollars in debt?

Answer

Revlon

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American electronics retailer filed for bankruptcy in 2015 after operating thousands of RadioShack stores?

Answer

RadioShack

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American retailer filed for bankruptcy in 2023 after operating the Bed Bath & Beyond and Buy Buy Baby chains?

Answer

Bed Bath & Beyond

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which American automaker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2009 before becoming part of Fiat Chrysler?

Answer

Chrysler

Easy Easy difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which luxury department-store chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2019?

Answer

Barneys New York

Intermediate Intermediate difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

In what year did Atari, Inc. file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States?

Answer

2013

Hard Hard difficulty.
Famous Bankruptcies

Which financial-services company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on November 1, 2009, during the global financial crisis?

Answer

CIT Group