True stories from financial history

When billions vanish
and markets collapse.

Short, narrated stories about the biggest frauds, crashes, and market disasters — told in under 5 minutes. Watch the video or read the story.

Hedge funds · 2006

Amaranth’s $6B Gas Bet Gone Wrong (2006) - QuickFinanceStories

Not longer than 3 minutes. Amaranth Natural Gas Blowup 2006 In 2006, a hedge fund named Amaranth Advisors lost about $6 billion in a week betting on natural…

2006
Fraud · 1995

How a Rogue Trader Sank Barings Bank in 1995 | Nick Leeson vs Risk Controls

Nick Leeson was supposed to be a back-office clerk at Barings Bank. Instead, he became the rogue trader who toppled Britain's oldest merchant bank in 1995.…

1995
Crashes · 2008

How Volkswagen Became the Most Valuable Company in the World - By Accident (2008 Short Squeeze)

In 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, something happened on the German stock market that no one expected — and most hedge funds would prefer to…

2008
Hedge funds · 2021

Archegos - How a Family Office Torched Wall Street (2021) - QuickFinanceStories

Nobody had heard of Bill Hwang. He ran a family office with no outside investors. No…

2021