Toys R Us wasn’t destroyed by Amazon alone — after a 2005 leveraged buyout saddled the company with roughly $5 billion in debt while private equity firms collected millions in fees, the retailer eventually collapsed, leaving more than 30,000 workers without jobs and many initially without severance. Toys R Us was once one of the biggest names in American retail, a store so iconic that for generations of children its aisles felt like a second Christmas morning. But its downfall was not simply about online shopping or Amazon overpowering another legacy retailer. The company’s real troubles began in 2005, when it was taken private through a leveraged buyout that loaded the business with billions of dollars in debt. Instead of investing heavily in modernizing stores, improving its online presence, or competing with rivals like Walmart, Target, and Amazon, Toys R Us spent enormous amounts of money just paying off what it owed. By the time the company filed for bankruptcy in 2017, the brand was still widely recognized, but financially cornered. Many stores had become outdated, its digital strategy lagged behind competitors, and thousands of employees were left vulnerable when the retailer finally collapsed. The human cost was immediate. Roughly 30,000 to 33,000 workers lost their jobs, and many initially received no severance pay. Following public backlash and pressure from organized workers, private equity firms Bain and KKR later contributed to a hardship and severance fund, though it came only after the closures had already devastated employees and their families. Toys R Us was originally founded in 1948 by Charles Lazarus as a baby furniture store called Children’s Bargain Town.(Historic Vids)