Bailouts
Who got bailed out, 1995–2026
Three decades of federal rescues of specific companies, industries, and groups: banks and Wall Street in 2008, automakers, airlines twice, millions of small businesses in the pandemic, union pension funds, and farmers again and again, most recently in 2026. 24 bailouts put $2.47T on the line. Some made money for taxpayers; most of the biggest were grants never meant to be repaid. Click any one to see who got the money and where it went.
Thirty years of rescues
Each bar runs from the year a bailout began to the year it wound down (faded bars are still open), colored by sector, with the money paid out at its end. Hover or tap for figures; click to open.
Two moments dominate: the 2008 financial crisis, when most of the money was loans and stock purchases that came back, and the 2020 pandemic, when most of it was grants that did not.
Did taxpayers get the money back?
Net cost (right) or profit (left) of each bailout, latest official figure. The Paycheck Protection Program cost the most ($769B); Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac returned the most ($110B, still open). Colors show the sector.
“Grants” were never meant to be repaid, so their cost equals what was paid out. Loans and stock purchases (TARP banks, AIG, Bear Stearns) came back with interest; the auto rescue and the homeowner programs did not.
By sector
Money paid out (grey) and net cost after repayments (color), all bailouts in each sector combined.
Every bailout
Click a column to sort; click a name for who got it and where.
| Bailout | Began | Sector | Paid out | Recovered | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico peso rescue The government of Mexico, during the peso crisis | 1995–97 | Other | $12.0B | $12.6B | $580M profit |
| Farm market-loss aid About 1.5 million farms a year growing corn, wheat, cotton, rice, and other program crops | 1998–01 | Agriculture | $27.6B | $0 | $27.6B cost |
| Post-9/11 airline rescue More than 400 air carriers; loan guarantees for six airlines | 2001–06 | Airlines | $4.60B | $300M | $4.30B cost |
| TARP bank capital (CPP) 707 banks and financial institutions in 48 states | 2008–23 | Banks | $205B | $227B | $16.3B profit |
| Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage giants | 2008–now | Housing | $192B | $301B | $110B profit |
| AIG American International Group, the insurer whose credit-default swaps tied it to most big b… | 2008–12 | Banks | $182B | n/a | $22.7B profit |
| Auto industry rescue General Motors, Chrysler, their finance arms (GMAC, later Ally), and parts suppliers | 2008–14 | Autos | $79.7B | $70.4B | $12.1B cost |
| Citigroup & BofA extra rescue Citigroup and Bank of America | 2008–10 | Banks | $40.0B | $48.0B | $8.00B profit |
| Bear Stearns (Maiden Lane) Bear Stearns, via its sale to JPMorgan Chase | 2008–12 | Banks | $28.8B | $31.3B | $2.50B profit |
| TARP homeowner programs Homeowners facing foreclosure, through mortgage servicers and state housing agencies | 2009–23 | Housing | $31.8B | $330M | $32.4B cost |
| TARP credit-market programs Investment funds buying troubled mortgage securities (PPIP), and small-business loan marke… | 2009–14 | Banks | $19.1B | $22.4B | $3.35B profit |
| Flood insurance debt cancellation The National Flood Insurance Program (and, through it, its policyholders) | 2017 | Other | $16.0B | $0 | $16.0B cost |
| Trade-war farm aid (MFP) 643,965 farm operations in 2019; most of the money went to soybean, corn, cotton, and whea… | 2018–20 | Agriculture | $23.0B | $0 | $23.0B cost |
| Paycheck Protection Program 11.8 million loans to small businesses, sole proprietors, and nonprofits | 2020–21 | Small business | $800B | n/a | $769B cost |
| COVID disaster loans (EIDL) Nearly 4 million small businesses and nonprofits | 2020–22 | Small business | $418B | n/a | $103B cost |
| Hospital & provider relief About 420,000 payments to hospitals, doctors, and other health providers | 2020–23 | Other | $135B | $1.30B | $135B cost |
| Airline payroll support (COVID) About 405 passenger airlines, 38 cargo carriers, and 256 airline contractors | 2020–21 | Airlines | $58.9B | $560M | $43.1B cost |
| Pandemic farm aid (CFAP) Crop, livestock, and dairy farmers nationwide | 2020–21 | Agriculture | $31.3B | $0 | $31.3B cost |
| Union pension rescue 170 failing multiemployer (union) pension plans covering 1.8 million workers and retirees | 2021–now | Other | $78.1B | $262M | $77.9B cost |
| Restaurant & venue grants About 101,000 restaurants and 12,700+ live venues, theaters, and museums | 2021–22 | Small business | $43.2B | n/a | $43.2B cost |
| SVB & Signature Bank depositors Uninsured depositors (above the $250,000 limit) at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank,… | 2023–26 | Banks | $18.5B | $15.8B | $2.70B cost |
| Farmer Bridge Assistance Row-crop farmers hit by the 2025 trade war and low prices, plus specialty-crop growers | 2025–26 | Agriculture | $9.83B | $0 | $9.83B cost |
| Emergency commodity aid (ECAP) More than 560,000 farmers growing corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and other row crops | 2025 | Agriculture | $9.38B | $0 | $9.38B cost |
| Argentina currency swap The government of Argentina (its central bank) | 2025 | Other | $2.50B | $2.50B | about break-even |
Net is the latest official figure and is not always paid out minus recovered. The TARP bank-capital, auto, and homeowner rows use Treasury's lifetime cost estimates (bank capital returned $21.9B more in cash than it paid out; its lifetime estimate is a $16.3B gain). Airline payroll support counts only the grants, less warrant sales, because its loans are being repaid. Hospital relief's $135B is what providers kept.
Farm aid, 1996–2026
Emergency and trade aid has made up most federal farm payments since 2018: every year, every program, and which states got it, through the 2026 bridge payments.
View →Who watched the bailouts
After 2008 the watchdogs put 326 people in prison. After 2020 they were sidelined, defunded, or fired, including the inspectors general over PPP, farm aid, and hospital relief.
View →The biggest bailout: PPP
$800B in forgivable loans to 11.8 million businesses: which states and industries got it, what was forgiven, and how much reached workers.
View →Not counted, and why
Rescues that are often called bailouts but fall outside the definition above, or that never happened.
- Federal Reserve emergency lending, 2007–10Broad lending to banks and markets peaked above $1 trillion outstanding in late 2008. All of it was repaid with interest; the Fed earned more than $30B. The oft-quoted “$16 trillion” adds up every overnight loan each time it rolled over. Source
- FDIC debt guarantees (TLGP), 2008–12Guaranteed up to $346B of bank debt; fees paid by banks ($10.4B) far exceeded losses. Source
- Federal Reserve pandemic facilities, 2020–21Main Street Lending, corporate-bond, and municipal facilities: about $41B of transactions; the corporate and municipal facilities earned money, Main Street lost about $1.3B. Source
- Postal Service Reform Act, 2022Cancelled about $47–57B of retiree-health prefunding the Postal Service owed but was not paying. Critics called it a bailout; sponsors called it reform. No cash changed hands. Source
- Intel stake, 2025The government converted $8.9B of promised CHIPS Act grants into about 10% of Intel's stock. A strategic investment in a company that was not failing, not a rescue. Source
- MP Materials and other equity deals, 2025–26The Defense Department took a stake in the rare-earth miner MP Materials ($400M) with a price floor for its output; the government announced $28.4B of such equity deals in 42 transactions from January 2025 to mid-2026 (CFR tracker). Source
- Spirit Airlines, 2026Spirit sought a $500M federal rescue that fell through; it stopped flying on May 2, 2026. Source
- Long-Term Capital Management, 1998The New York Fed brokered a $3.6B rescue funded entirely by 14 private banks; no public money. Source