Toys R Us bankruptcy: how private equity leveraged buyouts destroyed a $11B retail icon. I’m breaking down the LBO that killed childhood—and what it reveals about Wall Street’s playbook for corporate murder. This isn’t just retail failure; it’s a masterclass in financial engineering gone wrong, and the casualties were measured in 30,000 jobs and generations of nostalgia.
The Detail That Changes Everything
Toys R Us paid $400 million per year in interest on debt forced on them by the buyout firms
Historical Context
This story spans 1948-2018 and is centered in Wayne, New Jersey. Understanding the broader historical context is essential to grasping why events unfolded as they did.
Key Figures
The central figures in this story include Charles Lazarus, Bain Capital, KKR, and Vornado Realty. Each played a distinct role in the events documented in this episode.
What This Documentary Covers
- Understand how leveraged buyouts weaponize debt to extract value from healthy companies
- Discover the $5B debt trap that made Toys R Us impossible to compete with Amazon
- Learn why private equity’s math only works if you’re already rich enough to fail
- Trace how union-busting and cost-cutting accelerated the death spiral after 2010
- Analyze the 2017 bankruptcy and why Chapter 11 couldn’t save an overleveraged giant
Themes Explored
This episode examines interconnected themes including leveraged buyout, private equity, retail collapse, debt trap, Amazon competition. These themes recur across multiple episodes in our documentary collection, revealing patterns that connect seemingly unrelated stories.
Watch the Full Documentary
This companion article provides context and background for the full documentary. For the complete story with narration, original music, and archival imagery, watch the episode above or on YouTube.
