Chesapeake Energy (Bankruptcy)

Chesapeake's 2020 bankruptcy ended the fracking revolution's most aggressive evangelist. Aubrey McClendon built America's second-largest gas producer through relentless land acquisition financed by complex debt structures. Like a species that reproduces faster than the ecosystem can support, Chesapeake's growth exceeded sustainable resource levels. $9 billion in debt became fatal when gas prices collapsed and COVID crushed demand. McClendon died in 2016; his creation followed four years later.