Who is Elizabeth Holmes?

Elizabeth Holmes is an American businesswoman and was the CEO of Theranos, a now-defunct health technology company that soared in valuation after the company claimed to have revolutionised blood testing.

 

In 2015, Holmes was named the youngest self-made female billionaire in the US based on her company's valuation. But later in 2016, fraud revelations led to the revised estimate of Holmes that gave her a net worth of zero, whereas Fortune named her among the "The World's 19 Most Disappointing Leaders".

Following investigations into the revelations, the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018 charged Theranos and Holmes with deceiving investors by "massive fraud" through false or exaggerated claims about the accuracy of the blood-testing technology.

 

She settled the charges by paying a $500,000 fine, returning 18.9 million shares, relinquishing her voting control of Theranos, and being barred from serving as an officer or director of a public company for ten years.

 

Background

 

Born 1984 in Washington, DC, and went to St. John's School in Houston. In school, she was interested in computer programming and started her first business selling C++ compilers to Chinese universities. In 2002, Holmes attended Stanford University, where she studied chemical engineering.

 

In 2003, she founded the company Real-Time Cures in California, to "democratise healthcare" and described her fear of needles as motivation, and sought to perform blood tests using only small amounts of blood. Later, Holmes renamed the company Theranos and raised $6 million to fund the firm. By 2010, Theranos had more than $92 million in venture capital and became.

 

The Fall of Theranos

 

The Wall Street Journal initiated a secret investigation of Theranos after receiving a tip from a medical expert who thought the blood testing device seemed suspicious. When Holmes learned of the probe, she started a campaign to stop Carreyrou from publishing, which included legal and financial threats. In 2015, Carreyrou published a story detailing problems with the company and Holmes's conduct.

 

After a series of lawsuits and frauding investors, the company announced to dissolve in 2018.

 

On January 3, 2022, Holmes was found guilty on four counts of defrauding investors – three counts of wire fraud, and one of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.