4. Conseco Inc; $61.39 billion
From a small company set up in 1979, Conseco became one of the largest US home lenders and personal insurers by the late 1990s. Unfortunately, it collapsed under the weight of debts caused by it ambitious expansion and mounting bad loans. At $61.39 billion, Conseco filed for what is US's 4th largest bankruptcy petition.
The Carmel, Indiana-based company has struggled since piling up massive debts in a 1990s acquisition binge under flamboyant founder and chief executive Stephen Hilbert, capped by a disastrous purchase in 1998 of loan firm Green Tree Financial.
That deal exposed Conseco to a mountain of bad loans -- largely on mobile homes and manufactured housing -- which worsened as the economy turned sour.
Conseco piled on even more debt and made problems for itself in the late 1990s by aggressively accounting for gains from securitizing its loans. It later abandoned that practice under pressure from investors, which led to a restatement of several years' profits. That shook Wall Street's confidence in the company, and eventually led to Hilbert quitting in 2000.
The bankruptcy was filed to the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois on December 18, 2002.
Image: The headquarters of Conseco Inc | Photograph: Ron Hoskins/Getty Images
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