From Billion-Dollar Dream to Bankruptcy: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Global Crossing

Global Crossing was born in the late 1990s internet frenzy, fueled by deregulation and an insatiable demand for bandwidth. Founded by Gary Winnick, a former junk bond trader with ties to Michael Milken, the company aimed to build the digital backbone of the global internet through undersea fiber optic cables. It operated as a 'carrier’s carrier,' selling massive data capacity to telecom giants rather than consumers. With the explosive growth of the dot-com era, Global Crossing became a Wall Street darling, briefly valued at $55 billion. Its IPO raised nearly $400 million, and its stock soared as investors poured money into what seemed like the future of connectivity. But beneath the surface, the entire telecom industry was overestimating demand, building infrastructure for a market that didn’t yet exist. When the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, many of Global Crossing’s projected customers vanished overnight, leaving vast networks empty and revenues plummeting. The company began bleeding cash and resorted to questionable accounting practices known as 'capacity swaps'—essentially circular revenue deals designed to inflate earnings. Executives, including Winnick, sold off hundreds of millions in stock while the company crumbled. By 2002, Global Crossing filed for bankruptcy, becoming one of the largest corporate collapses in U.S. history, wiping out billions in shareholder value and devastating employees who lost jobs and retirement savings. Despite the fraud allegations and public outrage, no executives faced criminal charges. In a dramatic reversal, the company emerged from bankruptcy in 2003 under new ownership, which recognized the enduring value of its physical infrastructure. The once-mocked fiber network was repurposed and streamlined, proving essential to global communications. Eventually acquired by Level 3 Communications and later absorbed by Lumen Technologies, the original Global Crossing network still carries the majority of international internet traffic today. The saga of Global Crossing serves as both a cautionary tale about speculative excess and a testament to the resilience of critical infrastructure. While human ambition, greed, and flawed judgment led to one of the most spectacular business failures of the early 21st century, the underlying vision—to connect the world through fiber optics—endured, quietly powering modern life beneath the ocean waves.

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