Elizabeth Holmes is an American former biotechnology entrepreneur who, in 2022, was convicted of fraud in connection to her blood-testing company, Theranos.
The company’s valuation soared after it claimed to have revolutionized blood testing by developing methods that needed only very small volumes of blood, such as from a fingerprick.
In 2015, Forbes had named Holmes the youngest and wealthiest self-made female billionaire in the United States on the basis of a $9-billion valuation of her company.
Holmes dropped out of Stanford University at 19 to start Theranos.
She was praised as a visionary and a role model for young women, and she was featured on the cover of magazines like Forbes and Fortune.
However, in 2015, The Wall Street Journal published a series of articles that raised questions about the accuracy of Theranos’ technology.
In 2022, Holmes was found guilty of four counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud.
Summary
Name
Elizabeth Holmes
Date of Birth
February 3, 1984
Place of Birth
Washington D.C
Parents
Christian Rasmus Holmes IV and Noel Anne Daoust
Husband
William "Billy" Evans
Education
Stanford University (dropped out)
Occupation
Entrepreneur, CEO of Theranos (2003-2018)
Net Worth
$0 (2023)
Convictions
Four counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud
Sentence
11 years in prison
Notable Events
Founded Theranos in 2003, dubbed the world's youngest self-made woman billionaire in 2014, Theranos's business practices and Holmes's net worth came under scrutiny in 2016, Holmes was forced to relinquish control of Theranos in 2018, Holmes was convicted of fraud in 2022, Holmes was sentenced to prison in 2023
Elizabeth Holmes age
Holmes was born on February 3, 1984. She is currently 39 years old.
How tall is Elizabeth Holmes?
Holmes is 5 feet 6 inches (1.67 m) tall, and weighs 65 kg (143 lbs).
Elizabeth Holmes career
In 2003, Holmes dropped out of Stanford to start her own company, Theranos.
Theranos was a medical technology company that developed a blood testing system that used only a few drops of blood.
Holmes’s vision for Theranos was to revolutionize the blood testing industry.
She believed that her company’s technology could make blood testing more affordable and accessible to people around the world.
Theranos quickly raised billions of dollars from investors, and Holmes was hailed as a wunderkind.
In 2015, she was named the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire by Forbes magazine.
However, Theranos’s technology was never fully developed, and the company’s claims about its accuracy were repeatedly challenged.
What did Elizabeth Holmes do?
Holmes was the founder and CEO of Theranos, a blood-testing company that promised to revolutionize the healthcare industry.
However, the company’s technology was never able to live up to its promises, and Holmes was eventually convicted of fraud in 2022.
Holmea attended Stanford University, where she studied chemical engineering but in 2003, she dropped out of Stanford to start Theranos.
Theranos’s technology was based on the idea that it could use a small amount of blood, drawn from a finger prick, to run a wide range of tests.
This would make it much easier and more convenient for people to get their blood tested.
Holmes and Theranos were initially met with a great deal of excitement.
The company raised billions of dollars from investors, including some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley.
Holmes was also named one of the youngest self-made billionaires in the world.
However, the company’s technology began to fall apart under scrutiny.
In 2015, Theranos was forced to admit that it was not using its own technology for many of its tests.
The company’s board of directors also began to investigate Holmes’s management.
In 2018, Theranos was shut down.
Holmes was charged with fraud, and in 2022, she was found guilty of four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
She was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Elizabeth Holmes jail sentence
Holmes, the former CEO of Theranos, was sentenced to 11 years in prison on November 18, 2022.
She was found guilty of four counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
She was also ordered to pay a $250,000 fine and $10,000 in restitution; she began serving her sentence on May 30, 2023, according to CNN.
Holmes was convicted of defrauding investors, doctors, and patients about the capabilities of Theranos’ blood-testing technology.
Elizabeth Holmes net worth
Holmes’ net worth is currently estimated to be $0.
In 2014, she was the world’s youngest self-made female billionaire with a net worth of $4.5 billion.
However, her net worth plummeted after it was revealed that Theranos, the blood testing company she founded, had been making false claims about its technology.
She was charged with fraud in 2018 and found guilty of four counts in 2022.
Elizabeth Holmes documentaries
1. The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley – 2019
This HBO documentary by Alex Gibney tells the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, a company that promised to revolutionize blood testing with its new technology.
However, the technology was never fully developed, and Theranos eventually collapsed.
2. The Dropout – 2022
This Hulu documentary series tells the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, based on the podcast of the same name.
The series stars Amanda Seyfried as Holmes and Naveen Andrews as Theranos president Sunny Balwani.
3. Valley of Hype: The Culture that Built Elizabeth Holmes – 2019
This Yahoo Finance documentary explores the culture of Silicon Valley that allowed Elizabeth Holmes to succeed for so long.
The documentary argues that the culture of hype and overvaluation created an environment where Holmes was able to get away with her lies.
4. 60 Minutes: Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos Deception – 2018
This 60 Minutes segment aired in 2018 and explored the allegations of fraud against Theranos.
The segment featured interviews with former Theranos employees and investors, as well as with Holmes herself.
In addition to these documentaries, there have also been several books and podcasts about Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos.
Some of the most notable include;
- Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou (2018)
- The Dropout: How Elizabeth Holmes and Her Company Theranos Defrauded America by Rebecca Jarvis (2019)
- Theranos: The True Story of theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, and a $9 Billion Healthcare Debacle by John Carreyrou (2022)
- The Dropout: A Podcast About Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos by Rebecca Jarvis (2019)
Who is Elizabeth Holmes’ husband
Holmes is married to William “Billy” Evans, a 30-year-old hospitality heir. They met in 2017 and were married in 2019. They have two children together.
Evans is the grandson of James S. Evans, the former chairman of The Westin Hotels and Resorts.
He grew up in San Diego and attended Stanford University, where he studied economics.
After graduating, he worked as a consultant for McKinsey & Company.
Evans and Holmes met at a party in 2017. They were both drawn to each other’s intelligence and ambition.
They began dating soon after and were married in 2019.
Since Holmes was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 11 years in prison, Evans has been supportive of her throughout her legal troubles.
He has visited her in prison and has spoken out in her defense.
Elizabeth Holmes’ parents
Holmes’ parents are Christian Rasmus Holmes IV and Noel Anne Daoust.
Christian is a retired attorney while Noel is a former policy aide.
The couple met while working on Capitol Hill and were married in 1981. They have two children, Elizabeth and Christian V. Holmes.
Christian is a member of the Holmes family, which founded Fleischmann’s Yeast.
He worked for a number of government agencies, including the Department of Energy and the Department of Justice, before retiring in 2000.
Noel on the other hand worked as a policy aide on Capitol Hill before becoming a stay-at-home mom.
Christian and Noel have remained supportive of their daughter throughout her legal troubles.
They have attended her court hearings and have spoken out in her defense.
In a statement released after her conviction, they said; “We love our daughter very much and we are deeply disappointed in the outcome of the trial. We believe Elizabeth is innocent and we are confident that she will be vindicated on appeal.”
