The Keating Five Scandal
A warning written in taxpayers’ dollars
4.2 (26)
50 mins
Discover how five US senators intervened in favor of financier Charles Keating, whose risky investments led to the collapse of Lincoln Savings and Loan. Explore how political pressure, deregulation, and deception cost taxpayers billions and devastated thousands of investors, in this skoob.
Ep 1:
Five Senators and a Regulator
Charles Keating built a real estate empire atop a captured savings and loan, until his political maneuvering summoned five powerful senators into a fateful room with a wary regulator.
Ep 2:
Buying Access on Capitol Hill
Campaign cash flowed freely as Keating cultivated Cranston, DeConcini, Riegle, McCain, and Glenn—then called in favors just as criminal investigators closed in on Lincoln Savings.
Ep 3:
The Fall of Lincoln Savings
Elderly bondholders lost everything as Lincoln Savings collapsed, sparking prosecutions, lawsuits, and a stunning act of contrition from a war hero turned senator.
Ep 4:
The Scoop the Press Missed
While Lincoln Savings crumbled, mainstream media stayed silent for nearly two years—until a trade paper's scoop finally exploded into congressional hearings and national scandal.
Ep 5:
The Reckoning and Its Echo
Decades later, the Keating Five's lessons on deregulation, moral hazard, and money in politics still haunt American finance and democracy.
Discussions (13)
Seth
Level 5 · 8 mo agoDon’t surprise me that McCain only found his morals when the feds showed up. He didn’t leave for integrity, he ran to save his own skin
Edmond
Level 9 · 9 mo agoKeating admitting he hoped his cash bought influence is shockingly honest. He treated the Senate like a vending machine where you insert donations and favors fall out. Inflation hit bribery hard!
Darrell
Level 5 · 9 mo agoYou say it's greed but that's just business. If the gamble paid off you would call him a genius.
