My First Toxic Asset

The Planet Money podcast bought a toxic asset and is tracking what happens to the 2000+ mortgages that are bundled up into it over time.

We bought one of those things that no one wanted, one of those things that almost brought down the global economy: our very own toxic asset. This one has more than 2,000 mortgages in it. We paid $1,000, with our own money, for our piece. It used to be worth more like $75,000. Click on the timeline and roll over the states to watch a disaster in progress.

Somewhat of a surprise: they’ve made more than a third of their money back already.

• 2008 recession
• economics
• finance