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    Lebanon's Fall: From Switzerland to Economic Collapse

    26 min
    |
    18 sources
    |
    26 févr. 2026
    EconomicsFinancePolitics

    Exploring how Lebanon went from the 'Switzerland of the Middle East' to one of history's worst financial crises, and what good governance could have prevented this catastrophic collapse.

    Lebanon's Fall: From Switzerland to Economic Collapse

    Cette leçon audio a été créée par un membre de la communauté BeFreed

    Question posée

    Good financial governance in Lebanon.

    Voix des présentateurs
    Lenaplay
    Milesplay
    Style d'apprentissage
    Approfondi
    Sources de connaissances
    The End of Alchemy
    Adults in The Room
    The Only Game In Town
    Crashed
    Exile on Wall Street
    The Deficit Myth

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    "Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

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    Points clés

    1

    From Switzerland to Economic Collapse

    0:00

    **Lena:** Miles, I've been thinking about something that really struck me - Lebanon was once called the "Switzerland of the Middle East," and now it's facing one of the worst economic collapses in modern history. How does a country fall that far?

    0:14

    **Miles:** It's absolutely staggering, Lena. We're talking about a financial system that lost over $72 billion since 2019, and here's what really gets me - the World Bank ranks this crisis among the top three most severe global crises since the mid-nineteenth century. That puts it in the same league as the Great Depression.

    0:36

    **Lena:** That's incredible. And what's fascinating is that this isn't just about numbers on a spreadsheet, right? This is about real people who can't access their own bank accounts.

    0:46

    **Miles:** Exactly! Lebanese depositors are limited to withdrawing just $400 to $500 per month from accounts they've had for years. Imagine having your life savings locked away while inflation destroys the currency's value. The Lebanese pound lost over 98 percent of its value since 2019.

    1:05

    **Lena:** So when we talk about "good financial governance," we're really talking about preventing this kind of catastrophic collapse. Let's dive into what went wrong and what Lebanon's recovery plan actually looks like.

    2

    The Anatomy of Financial Engineering Gone Wrong

    3

    The $154 Trillion Loss Reality Check

    4

    Exchange Rate Reality and Competitive Rebalancing

    5

    Fiscal Consolidation Without Destroying the Social Contract

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