Based on your financial expertise, provide your response or viewpoint on the given financial question or topic. The response format is open.

When a company liquidates, are earlier investors paid back first?
This would be governed by bankruptcy law... there is no reason a healthy company would take such action. This would be a long drawn process generally amongst debtor the taxes have higher claim, then Sunday debtors (payable), then bank loans... This is followed by loan raised by company deposits then debentures... even among share holders there can be special shares...  More often most shares are equal and the balance is distributed to all.