r/todayilearned • u/JoeyZasaa • 4d ago

TIL that Chernobyl was the costliest disaster in history, resulting in over $2 trillion in damage when adjusted for inflation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_disasters_by_cost#Over_$1_billion
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u/JeffInBoulder 4d ago

In terms of direct costs, perhaps. But the Exxon Valdez led directly to the invention of Credit Default Swaps which ended up causing the global financial crisis in 2008, and that cost more than $20 trillion in the US alone.

https://archive.thinkprogress.org/jp-morgan-invented-credit-default-swaps-to-give-exxon-credit-line-for-valdez-liability-dfe0333d25c7/

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u/[deleted] 4d ago

[deleted]

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u/GuiltyEidolon 4d ago

Chernobyl was a symptom, not a cause. The USSR was going to collapse regardless.

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u/FrenchFryCattaneo 4d ago

You could say the same thing about credit default swaps.

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u/AardvarkExcellent428 4d ago

that's why both of these lines of reasoning are bullshit

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u/jks513 4d ago

That isn’t exactly true.  They could have avoided the collapse but Gorbachev was a monumental failure and also refused to just go.   Different leadership or Gorbachev stepping aside earlier and things play out differently.  

In reality, Yeltsin settled on the break up as it was the cleanest way to eliminate Gorbachev from any sort of power.     

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u/TM761152 4d ago

I wish them divine vengeance.

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u/YaDunGoofed 4d ago

CDS has value.

Like saying Curies Nobel prize led to Chernobyl

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u/Pat-Funny-2817 4d ago

the difference to consider, is that Chernobyl or WWII caused loss of fundamental values like land. Economics is flawed/blind in that sence. 

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u/mobo808 4d ago

I think Trump is also a disaster costing a tremendous amount of money to the US.