Johns Manville was the first company to set up an asbestos trust fund in 1988, after entering bankruptcy protection. Since then, nearly one hundred other companies have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and 60 asbestos trust funds are active in the U.S. at the moment. So far, approximately $18 billion has been paid out by asbestos trust funds to over 3 million asbestos victims, while $37 billion is available for future claimants.