From $31 Billion To Nothing: How Kodak Lost Everything

In 1975, a 24-year-old Kodak engineer invented the world's first digital camera. His bosses told him to hide it. Thirty-seven years later, Kodak filed for bankruptcy. At its peak, Kodak controlled 90% of America's film and was worth $31 billion. This is the full rise and fall of Eastman Kodak: the $1 Brownie, Kodachrome, the money machine with 70% margins — and the one decision that doomed it all: inventing the future, and burying it to protect film profits. Chapters: 00:00 Channel Intro 00:06 The Bankruptcy 00:42 The Height of the Empire 01:32 1888: You Press the Button 02:02 1900: The Brownie 02:31 Kodachrome and the Kodak Moment 02:57 Razor and Blades 03:27 A Civilization in Rochester 03:53 The Whole Story, On One Line 04:22 December 1975: The Invention 05:12 Buried Alive 05:42 The Decision 06:23 The 1981 Warning 07:09 Why the Paralysis 07:37 Built It, Would Not Sell It 08:24 The $500M Half-Measure 09:02 The Sterling Drug Detour 09:29 Number One and Bleeding 10:10 The Timeline Runs Out 10:39 Fujifilm Chose Differently 11:13 Freefall 11:38 Ofoto vs Instagram 12:14 Auctioning the Crown Jewels 12:48 Out of Bankruptcy 13:19 The Verdict 13:52 The Lesson NEXT EPISODE: Blockbuster — the video store that could have bought Netflix for fifty million dollars, and laughed it off. Subscribe so you don't miss it. All visuals are cinematic AI recreations, not archival footage.