I have a question for you: How did one of the world's largest companies make $3.8 billion disappear? Not only was this the biggest accounting scandal in the history of the United States—but it was also one of the biggest bankruptcies of all time. We're talking about one of the world's largest telecommunication companies and a core dividend-paying stock that many retirees held in their portfolios. At the peak of the dot-com bubble, the market capitalization of the company went to as high as $175 billion. But what did this company do?  They tried to falsely inflate earnings on their profit and loss statement by nearly $4 billion. How? By manipulating its financial data, which affected their Income statement, Balance sheet, 10-K filing, and Annual report. When the tech bubble burst, many companies slashed spending on telecom services and equipment, and this telecommunication giant had to resort to accounting tricks to maintain their ever-growing profitability.  However, by then, many investors had become suspicious of the CEO's story, especially after the Enron scandal that broke in the summer of 2001. Now, the question is: How did this telecommunications giant cooked its books and fool investors? That is what we are going to explore in today's episode.  The Rise and Fall of Worldcom.  Check out this episode to find out more! Recommendation: Ep 87 - The Fall Of A Wall Street Sweetheart (Enron) If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to follow or subscribe and share it with someone who will benefit from this. Also, If you'd like to learn how to pick profitable index funds and start your investment journey or if you'd like to find out more about Delugne Investing, check out Delugne.com for more info. Resources: 1. The Worldcom Scandal Explained 2. Lessons for us all from WorldCom's fall 3. Drawing lessons from WorldCom