List of trading losses
The following contains a list of trading losses of the equivalent of US$100 million or higher. Trading losses are the amount of principal losses in an account. Because of the secretive nature of many hedge funds and fund managers, some notable losses may never be reported to the public. The list is ordered by the real amount lost, starting with the greatest.
This list includes both fraudulent and non-fraudulent losses, but excludes those associated with Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme (estimated in the $50 billion range) as Madoff did not lose most of this money in trading.
| Nominal amount lost | USD FX rate |
USD equivalent | USD inflation to 2007 |
2007 USD amount lost | Country | Company | Source of loss | Year | Person(s) associated with incident |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| at time of loss | |||||||||
| USD 10 bn | 1 | USD 10 bn | -19.4% | USD 8.06 bn | United States | Archegos Capital Management | Total return swaps | 2021 | Bill Hwang |
| USD 9 bn | 1 | USD 9 bn | −3.7% | USD 8.67 bn | United States | Morgan Stanley | Credit Default Swaps | 2008 | Howie Hubler |
| USD 9 bn | 1 | USD 9 bn | −7.0% | USD 8.37 bn | United Kingdom | JPMorgan Chase | Credit Default Swaps | 2012 | Bruno Iksil |
| USD 8 bn | 1 | USD 8 bn | −12.3% | USD 7.01 bn | China | Tsingshan Holding Group | Short positions on nickel | 2022 | |
| USD 6.12 (EUR 4.9) bn | 0.679 | USD 7.22 bn | −3.7% | USD 6.95 bn | France | Société Générale | European Index Futures | 2008 | Jérôme Kerviel |
| USD 6.5 bn | 1 | USD 6.50 bn | 2.8% | USD 6.69 bn | United States | Amaranth Advisors | Gas Futures | 2006 | Brian Hunter |
| USD 4.6 bn | 1 | USD 4.6 bn | 27.2% | USD 5.85 bn | United States | Long Term Capital Management | Bond Arbitrage | 1998 | John Meriwether |
| EUR 4 bn | USD 4 bn | Netherlands | PFZW | Oil futures | 2020 | ||||
| USD 4.5 bn | 1 | USD 4.5 bn | -19.4% | USD 3.6 bn | United States | Melvin Capital | Short positions on Gamestop and other US equities | 2021 | Gabe Plotkin |
| USD 4.1 bn | 1 | USD 4.1 bn | -14.9% | USD 3.49 bn | United States | Pershing Square | Valeant Pharmaceuticals | 2015-2017 | Bill Ackman |
| JPY 285 bn | 108.78 | USD 2.62 bn | 32.1% | USD 3.46 bn | Japan | Sumitomo Corporation | Copper Futures | 1996 | Yasuo Hamanaka |
| USD 3 bn | Singapore | Three Arrows Capital | Cryptocurrency | 2022 | Kyle Davies & Su Zhu | ||||
| EUR 2.7 bn | 1 | USD 2.7 bn | −7.0% | USD 2.7 bn | Netherlands | Vestia | Interest Rate Swaps, Swaptions | 2012 | Marcel Vries |
| BRL 4.62 bn | 1.833 | USD 2.52 bn | −3.7% | USD 2.43 bn | Brazil | Aracruz | FX Options | 2008 | Isac Zagury, Rafael Sotero |
| USD 2.4 bn | USD 2.4 bn | United States | SemGroup | Oil Futures | 2008 | ||||
| USD 1.7 bn | 1 | USD 1.7 bn | 39.9% | USD 2.38 bn | United States | Orange County | Leveraged bond investments | 1994 | Robert Citron |
| DEM 2.63 bn | 1.655 | USD 1.59 bn | 43.5% | USD 2.28 bn | Germany | Metallgesellschaft | Oil Futures | 1993 | Heinz Schimmelbusch |
| JPY 166 bn | 111.08 | USD 1.49 bn | 43.5% | USD 2.14 bn | Japan | Showa Shell Sekiyu | FX Forwards | 1993 | |
| JPY 153.6 bn | 102.18 | USD 1.50 bn | 39.9% | USD 2.09 bn | Japan | Kashima Oil | FX Forwards | 1994 | |
| USD 2 bn | USD 2 bn | United States | Soros Fund Management | Russian Equities | 1998 | ||||
| USD 2 bn | USD 2 bn | United States | Tiger Management | Shorting Japanese yen | 1998 | ||||
| USD 2 bn | 1 | USD 2 bn | −8.5% | USD 1.83 bn | United Kingdom | UBS | Equities ETF and Delta 1 | 2011 | Kweku Adoboli |
| HKD 14.7 bn | 7.786 | USD 1.89 bn | −3.7% | USD 1.82 bn | China | CITIC Pacific | Foreign Exchange Trading | 2008 | Frances Yung |
| GBP 827 mn | 0.633 | USD 1.31 bn | 36.1% | USD 1.78 bn | Singapore | Barings Bank | Nikkei Futures | 1995 | Nick Leeson |
| RUB 78.5 bn | 38.98 | USD 2.01 bn | −12.6% | USD 1.76 bn | Russia | Transneft | Derivatives | 2014 | Maksim Grishanin, VP Finance |
| USD 1.8 bn | 1 | USD 1.8 bn | −3.7% | USD 1.74 bn | United States | Deutsche Bank | Derivatives | 2008 | Boaz Weinstein |
| USD 1.6 bn | USD 1.6 bn | United States | Icahn Enterprises | Hertz | 2020 | Carl Icahn | |||
| JPY 130 bn | USD 1.6 bn | Japan | AIJ Investment Advisors | Volatility options | 2012 | Kazuhiko Asakawa | |||
| USD 1.75 (EUR 1.4) bn | 0.923 | USD 1.29 bn | 20.4% | USD 1.56 bn | Austria | BAWAG | Foreign Exchange Trading | 2000 | Wolfgang Flöttl, Helmut Elsner |
| USD 1.1 bn | 1 | USD 1.10 bn | 36.1% | USD 1.50 bn | Japan | Daiwa Bank | Bonds | 1995 | Toshihide Iguchi |
| USD 0.80 bn | 1 | USD 0.80 bn | 82.5% | USD 1.46 bn | United Kingdom | Soros Fund | SP 500 Futures | 1987 | George Soros |
| USD 1 bn | 1 | USD 1 bn | 252.5% | USD 2.52 bn | United States | Hunt Brothers | Silver | 1980 | William Hunt, Nelson Hunt |
| USD 0.94 (EUR 0.75) bn | 0.679 | USD 1.10 bn | −3.7% | USD 1.06 bn | France | Groupe Caisse d'Epargne | Derivatives | 2008 | Boris Picano-Nacci |
| BRL 2 bn | 1.833 | USD 1.09 bn | −3.7% | USD 1.05 bn | Brazil | Sadia | FX and Credit Options | 2008 | Adriano Ferreira, Álvaro Ballejo |
| EUR 0.730 bn | USD 1 bn≈ | USD 1 bn≈ | Italy | Monte dei Paschi di Siena | Synthetic CDOs Credit Default Swaps on Italian government bonds Equity swaps on Intesa Sanpaolo shares |
2005-2009 | |||
| USD 1 bn | Saudi Arabia | Saudi National Bank | Credit Suisse | 2023 | |||||
| GBP 0.4 bn | 0.611 | USD 0.66 bn | 29.2% | USD 0.85 bn | United Kingdom | Morgan Grenfell | Shares | 1997 | Peter Young |
| USD 0.6 bn | 1 | USD 0.60 bn | 39.9% | USD 0.84 bn | United States | Askin Capital Management | Mortgage-Backed Securities | 1994 | David Askin |
| USD 0.75 (EUR 0.60) bn | 1.371 | USD 0.82 bn | 0.0 | USD 0.82 bn | Germany | WestLB | Common and Preferred Shares | 2007 | Friedhelm Breuers |
| USD 0.69 bn | 1 | USD 0.69 bn | 15.3% | USD 0.80 bn | United States | AIB/Allfirst | Foreign Exchange Options | 2002 | John Rusnak |
| S$1.13 bn | USD 0.80 bn | Singapore | Hin Leong Trading | Oil | 2020 | ||||
| DEM 0.47 bn | 2.587 | USD 0.18 bn | 320.6% | USD 0.76 bn | Germany | Herstatt Bank | Foreign Exchange Trading | 1974 | Dany Dattel |
| USD 0.77 bn | USD 0.77 bn | United States | Arkansas Teacher Retirement System | volatility-trading fund | 2020 | ||||
| USD 0.68 bn | 0% | USD 0.68 bn | China | Unipec | Oil | 2018 | |||
| USD 0.65 bn | United States | Quantum Fund | Japanese Yen Shorting | 1994 | Stanley Druckenmiller | ||||
| CAD 0.68 bn | 1.066 | USD 0.64 bn | 0% | USD 0.64 bn | Canada | Bank of Montreal | Natural gas derivatives | 2007 | David Lee, Kevin Cassidy |
| USD 0.6 bn | United States | Quantum Fund | Short IT stocks during the internet bubble | 1999 | Stanley Druckenmiller | ||||
| USD 0.55 bn | 1 | USD 0.55 bn | 9.8% | USD 0.60 bn | China | China Aviation Oil (Singapore) | Oil Futures and Options | 2004 | Chen Jiulin |
| USD 0.57 bn | China | COSCO Shipping | Freight derivatives | 2008 | |||||
| CHF 0.63 bn | 1.451 | USD 0.43 bn | 27.2% | USD 0.55 bn | Switzerland | Union Bank of Switzerland | Equity Derivatives | 1998 | Ramy Goldstein |
| USD 0.52 bn | USD 0.52 bn | United States | State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio | Panda Power Funds | 2011-2021 | ||||
| EUR 0.48 bn | 1.08 | USD 0.519 bn | USD 0.35 bn | France | Électricité de France S.A. | French electricity contracts | 2021 | ||
| USD 0.44 bn | 1 | USD 0.44 bn | 82.5% | USD 0.44 bn | United States | Knight Capital Group | Equities | 2012 | Thomas Joyce |
| USD 0.28 bn | 1 | USD 0.28 bn | 82.5% | USD 0.51 bn | United States | Merrill Lynch | Mortgages (IOs and POs) Trading | 1987 | Howard A. Rubin |
| USD 0.28 bn | 1 | USD 0.28 bn | 82.5% | USD 0.51 bn | United States | State of West Virginia | Fixed Income and Interest Rate Derivatives | 1987 | A. James Manchin |
| USD 0.35 bn | 1 | USD 0.35 bn | 39.9% | USD 0.49 bn | United States | Kidder Peabody | Government Bonds | 1994 | Joseph Jett |
| USD 0.4 bn | 1 | USD 0.40 bn | 20.4% | USD 0.48 bn | United States | Manhattan Investment Fund | Short IT stocks during the internet bubble | 2000 | Michael Berger |
| USD 0.37 (EUR 0.30) bn | 1.244 | USD 0.37 bn | 9.8% | USD 0.41 bn | Austria | Hypo Alpe-Adria-Bank International | Foreign Exchange Trading | 2004 | |
| 1 | USD 0.4 bn | United States | Pershing Square | Netflix | 2022 | Bill Ackman | |||
| USD 0.35 bn | 1 | USD 0.35 bn | 0.0% | USD 0.35 bn | United States | Calyon | Credit Derivatives | 2007 | Richard "Chip" Bierbaum |
| USD 0.36 bn | 1 | USD 0.36 bn | 0.0% | USD 0.36 bn | Singapore | Petro-Diamond Singapore | Oil derivatives | 2019 | Wang Xingchen, Jack |
| AUD 0.36 bn | 1.171 | USD 0.31 bn | 9.8% | USD 0.34 bn | Australia | National Australia Bank | Foreign Exchange Trading | 2004 | Luke Duffy, Gianni Gray, Vince Ficarra & David Bullen |
| JPY 28.6 bn | USD 0.34 bn | Japan | Tateho Chemical Industries | Bond futures | 1987 | ||||
| JPY 32 bn | USD 0.34 bn | Japan | Tokyo Securities | Bond futures | 1994 | ||||
| USD 0.078 bn | 1 | USD 0.078 bn | 320.4% | USD 0.328 bn | Switzerland | Lloyds Bank | Foreign Exchange Trading | 1974 | Marc Colombo |
| CAD 0.36 bn | USD 0.32 bn | Canada | Christopher DeVocht | Stocks | 2022 | ||||
| USD 0.37 (EUR 0.30) bn | 0.895 | USD 0.27 bn | 17.1% | USD 0.31 bn | Belgium | Dexia Bank | Corporate Bonds | 2001 | |
| USD 0.296 bn (EUR 0.26) bn | 1.11 | USD 0.296 bn | -1% | USD 0.296 bn | Hong Kong | Natixis | Equities Derivatives | 2018 | |
| USD 0.25 bn+ | 1 | USD 0.25 bn+ | United States | Parplus Partners | CBOE Volatility Index futures and options | 2020 | Jim Carney | ||
| USD 0.225 bn | 1 | USD 0.225 bn | 43.5% | USD 0.30 bn | United States | FXCM | Foreign exchange | 2015 | |
| USD 0.207 bn | 1 | USD 0.207 bn | 43.5% | USD 0.30 bn | Chile | Codelco | Copper, silver, gold futures | 1993 | Juan Pablo Davila |
| EUR 0.160 | 1.1 | USD 0.176 bn | 0% | USD 0.176bn | Germany | BNP Paribas Arbitrage | Structured products | 2016 | Armin S. |
| JPY 11.5 bn | USD 0.28 bn | Japan/ United States | Fuji Bank New York Branch | Foreign exchange trading | 1984 | ||||
| USD 0.28 bn | United Kingdom | Allied-Lyons | FX derivatives | 1991 | |||||
| USD 0.28 bn | 1 | USD 0.28 bn | United States | Raytheon Technologies Corporation | volatility-trading fund | 2020 | |||
| JPY 9.7 bn | USD 0.24 bn | Japan/ Singapore | Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank Singapore Branch | Foreign exchange trading | 1982 | Haruo Kanda | |||
| JPY 22.9 bn | USD 0.23 bn | Japan | Nanzan Gakuen | Equity derivatives | 2008 | ||||
| USD 0.16 bn | 1 | USD 0.16 bn | 39.9% | USD 0.22 bn | United States | Procter & Gamble | Interest rate derivatives | 1994 | Raymond Mains |
| USD 0.04 bn | 1 | USD 0.04 bn | 433.8% | USD 0.214 bn | Switzerland | United California Bank of Basel | Cocoa futures | 1970 | Paul Erdman |
| USD 0.2 bn | 1 | USD 0.20 bn | 6.2% | USD 0.21 bn | China | State Reserves Bureau Copper Scandal | Copper Futures | 2005 | Liu Qibing |
| HKD 1.38 bn | USD 0.17 bn | Hong Kong | Chinese Estates | Evergrande | 2021 | ||||
| GBP 0.09 bn | 0.611 | USD 0.15 bn | 29.2% | USD 0.19 bn | United Kingdom | NatWest | Interest Rate Options | 1997 | Kyriacos Papouis |
| USD 0.039 bn | 1 | USD 0.039 bn | 320.4% | USD 0.164 bn | United States | Franklin National Bank | Foreign Exchange Trading | 1974 | Peter Shaddick |
| USD 0.11 bn | 1 | USD 0.11 bn | 39.9% | USD 0.15 bn | United States | Cuyahoga County, Ohio | Leveraged Fixed Income | 1994 | |
| JPY 15.4 bn | USD 0.15 bn | Japan | Komazawa Gakuen | Currency Derivatives | 2008 | ||||
| SEK 1.23 bn | 7.804 | USD 0.15 bn | −4.8% | USD 0.143 bn | Sweden | HQ Bank | Equity Derivatives | 2010 | Fredrik Crafoord, Mikael König, Patrik Enblad |
| USD 0.15 bn | USD 0.15 bn | United States | OptionSellers.com | commodity trading | 2018 | James S. Cordier | |||
| USD 0.15 bn | United Kingdom | Softbank Vision Fund | Paytm | 2024 | |||||
| JPY 13.9 bn | USD 0.14 bn | Japan | Nippon Steel Chemical | Bond futures | 1993 | ||||
| USD 0.14 bn | 1 | USD 0.14 bn | −3.7% | USD 0.13 bn | United States | MF Global | Wheat Futures | 2008 | Evan Dooley |
| N/A | USD 0.13 bn | Japan | self-portfolio | Bitcoin | 2017-2018 | Masayoshi Son | |||
| USD 0.120 bn | 1 | USD 0.12 bn | −3,7% | USD 0.12 bn | United States | Morgan Stanley | Credit-index options | 2008 | Matt Piper |
| USD 0.12 (EUR 0.1) bn | 1 | USD 0.12 bn | −1% | USD 0.12 bn | Norway | Einar Aas | Nordpool Power Derivatives | 2018 | Einar Aas |
| JPY 11.9 bn | USD 0.12 bn | Japan | Nippon Sanso | Interest rate swap | 1995 | ||||
| USD 0.1 bn | 1 | USD 0.10 bn | 15.3% | USD 0.12 bn | Croatia | Riječka banka (Rijeka Bank) | Foreign Exchange Trading | 2002 | Eduard Nodilo |
| HKD 1 bn | USD 0.12 bn | Hong Kong | Blue River Holdings | Evergrande Vehicle | 2021 | ||||
| USD 0.11 bn | United States | Berkshire Hathaway | Paytm | 2023 | |||||