Trader (1999) | Rogue

On February 23, 1995, Leeson left a note on his desk saying and fled the country. He left behind a $1.4 billion loss —more than double the bank's entire available capital.

The trouble started with a single mistake. A junior clerk made a trade error, and rather than reporting it, Leeson hid the loss in a dormant account: . To cover that loss, he made bigger, riskier bets. When those failed, he doubled down again. Rogue Trader (1999)

By 1995, Leeson’s secret losses were staggering. He placed a massive bet on the index, wagering that the Japanese market would remain stable overnight. On February 23, 1995, Leeson left a note

Because he was in charge of both the trading floor and the back-office reporting (the "settlements"), he was effectively his own boss, allowing him to cook the books and make it look like he was making millions while he was actually drowning. The Kobe Earthquake A junior clerk made a trade error, and

Then, the unthinkable happened: the struck Kobe. The Japanese markets plummeted, and Leeson’s positions turned into a black hole. He tried to "trade his way out" by buying more, but the hole only deepened. The Collapse