Elizabeth Holmes#Questions about Theranos

Elizabeth Holmes was born on February 3, 1984, in Washington, D.C.{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-founder-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-life-story-bio-2018-4|title=The rise and fall of Elizabeth Holmes, who started Theranos when she was 19 and became the world's youngest female billionaire but will now face a trial over 'massive fraud' in July 2020|last1=Leskin|first1=Avery |last2=Hartmans |first2=Paige|website=Business Insider|access-date=February 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200211105506/https://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-founder-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-life-story-bio-2018-4|archive-date=February 11, 2020|url-status=live}} Her father, Christian Rasmus Holmes IV, was a vice president at Enron, an energy company that later went bankrupt after an accounting fraud scandal. Her mother, Noel Anne (née Daoust), worked as a Congressional committee staffer.{{Cite magazine | title = One Woman's Drive to Revolutionize Medical Testing | last= Auletta |first= Ken | magazine = The New Yorker | date = December 15, 2014 | access-date = October 19, 2015 |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/15/blood-simpler | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028084933/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/12/15/blood-simpler | archive-date = October 28, 2019 | url-status = live }} Christian later held executive positions in government agencies such as USAID, the EPA, and USTDA.{{cite web|title=Christian Holmes|url=https://www.bcg.com/en-us/about/people/experts/christian-holmes.aspx|access-date=September 4, 2018|website=The Boston Consulting Group|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180905141103/https://www.bcg.com/en-us/about/people/experts/christian-holmes.aspx|archive-date=September 5, 2018|url-status=live}} Holmes is partly of Danish ancestry. One of her paternal great-great-great-grandfathers was Charles Louis Fleischmann, a Jewish-Hungarian immigrant to the United States who founded Fleischmann's Yeast.{{sfn|Carreyrou|2018a|pp=9–10}} The Holmes family "was very proud of its yeast empire" history, according to a family friend Joseph Fuisz, "I think the parents very much yearned for the days of yore when the family was one of the richest in America. And I think Elizabeth channeled that, and at a young age."{{cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-comes-from-a-bakers-yeast-empire/ |title=Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Comes from a Baker's Yeast Empire |work=Vice |author=Bettina Makalintal |date=March 25, 2019 |access-date=July 4, 2022}}

Holmes graduated from high school at St. John's School in Houston.{{cite news|last=Young |first= Matt|url=https://www.chron.com/culture/tv/article/Elizabeth-Holmes-The-Dropout-Houston-St-Johns-real-16986374.php|title=What Hulu's 'The Dropout' got wrong about Elizabeth Holmes' Houston childhood|date=March 8, 2022|work=The Houston Chronicle|access-date=March 17, 2023}}{{cite news|last1=Abelson |first1=Reed|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/20/business/theranos-founder-faces-a-test-of-technology-and-reputation.html?_r=0|title=Theranos Founder Faces a Test of Technology, and Reputation|date=December 19, 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 1, 2016|last2=Creswe|first2=Julie|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170120161553/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/20/business/theranos-founder-faces-a-test-of-technology-and-reputation.html?_r=0|archive-date=January 20, 2017|url-status=live}} During high school, she was interested in computer programming and says she started her first business selling C++ compilers to Chinese universities.{{cite news |url=https://fortune.com/2014/06/12/theranos-blood-holmes/ |title=This CEO is out for blood |work=Fortune |first=Roger |last=Parloff |date=June 12, 2014 |access-date=August 15, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007102223/https://fortune.com/2014/06/12/theranos-blood-holmes/ |archive-date=October 7, 2019 |url-status=live }} Her parents had arranged Mandarin Chinese home tutoring, and partway through high school, Holmes began attending Stanford University's summer Mandarin program.{{sfn|Carreyrou|2018a|p=12}} In 2002, Holmes attended Stanford, where she studied chemical engineering and worked as a student researcher and laboratory assistant in the School of Engineering. She was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta at Stanford.{{Cite web |last=Khorram |first=Yasmin |date=2021-12-02 |title=Elizabeth Holmes relies on her tight entourage of friends as fraud trial nears its end |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/02/elizabeth-holmes-relies-on-entourage-of-friends-as-theranos-trial-nears-end.html |access-date=2022-05-27 |website=CNBC}}

After the end of her freshman year, Holmes worked in a laboratory at the Genome Institute of Singapore and tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-1) through the collection of blood samples with syringes. She filed her first patent application on a wearable drug-delivery patch in 2003.{{cite news|last=Weisul|first=Kimberly|url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/201510/kimberly-weisul/the-longest-game.html |title=How Playing the Long Game Made Elizabeth Holmes a Billionaire|work=Inc.|access-date=April 8, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214004145/https://www.inc.com/magazine/201510/kimberly-weisul/the-longest-game.html|archive-date=December 14, 2019|url-status=live}} Holmes reported that she was raped at Stanford in 2003.{{cite news |last=Randazzo |first=Sara |title=Holmes Says Rape Led to Decision to Leave Stanford |url=https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/elizabeth-holmes-trial-theranos/card/t18Vd6QM6v7fGDCm54J6 |access-date=13 January 2023 |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=29 November 2021}} In March 2004, she dropped out of Stanford's School of Engineering and used her tuition money as seed funding for a consumer healthcare technology company.{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2014/10/16/technology/theranos-elizabeth-holmes/ | title=She's America's youngest female billionaire – and a dropout | work=CNNMoney | date=October 16, 2014 | access-date=March 22, 2015 | first=Rachel | last=Crane | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150321023411/https://money.cnn.com/2014/10/16/technology/theranos-elizabeth-holmes/ | archive-date=March 21, 2015 | url-status=live }}

{{Main|Theranos}}

In 2003, Holmes founded the company Real-Time Cures in Palo Alto, California, to "democratize healthcare".{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/02/elizabeth-holmes-theranos/?cid=18964974 |title=This Woman Invented a Way to Run 30 Lab Tests on Only One Drop of Blood |first=Caitlin |last=Roper |date=February 18, 2014 |magazine=Wired |access-date=March 6, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219223457/http://www.wired.com/2014/02/elizabeth-holmes-theranos/?cid=18964974 |archive-date=December 19, 2015 |url-status=live }}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/12/t-magazine/elizabeth-holmes-tech-visionaries-brian-chesky.html?_r=1|title=Five Visionary Tech Entrepreneurs Who Are Changing the World: Elizabeth Holmes|work=The New York Times|last=Arrillaga-Andreessen|first=Laura|date=October 12, 2015|access-date=August 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128135703/http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/10/12/t-magazine/elizabeth-holmes-tech-visionaries-brian-chesky.html?_r=1|archive-date=November 28, 2016|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-10/can-theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-fend-off-her-critics-|title=Can Elizabeth Holmes Save Her Unicorn?|work=Bloomberg Businessweek|last1=Kolhatkar|first1=Sheelah|last2=Chen|first2=Caroline|date=December 10, 2015|access-date=October 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925074429/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-10/can-theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-fend-off-her-critics-|archive-date=September 25, 2016|url-status=live}} Holmes described her fear of needles as a motivation and sought to perform blood tests using only small amounts of blood.{{cite web |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/09/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-exclusive |title=Exclusive: How Elizabeth Holmes's House of Cards Came Tumbling Down |work=Vanity Fair |last=Bilton |first=Nick |date=October 2016 |access-date=January 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170410172642/http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2016/09/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-exclusive |archive-date=April 10, 2017 |url-status=live }} When Holmes pitched the idea to reap "vast amounts of data from a few droplets of blood derived from the tip of a finger" to her medicine professor Phyllis Gardner at Stanford, Gardner responded, "I don't think your idea is going to work", explaining it was impossible to do what Holmes was claiming could be done. Several other expert medical professors told Holmes the same thing. However, Holmes did not relent, and she succeeded in getting her advisor and dean at the School of Engineering, Channing Robertson, to back her idea. In 2003, Holmes renamed the company Theranos (a portmanteau of "therapy" and "diagnosis").{{cite web |url=https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/01/222855/theranos-scandal-timeline-what-happened-elizabeth-holmes-documentary |title=Keep Track Of The Theranos Scandal With This Detailed Timeline |last=Leiva |first=Ludmila |website=Refinery29 |access-date=2024-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101103240/https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/01/222855/theranos-scandal-timeline-what-happened-elizabeth-holmes-documentary |archive-date=January 1, 2020 |url-status=live}} The company's original name was changed after deciding that too many people were skeptical of the word "cure".{{cite news|last=Parloff|first=Roger|date=June 12, 2014|title=This CEO is out for blood|newspaper=Fortune|url=http://fortune.com/2014/06/12/theranos-blood-holmes/|url-status=live|access-date=June 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191007102223/https://fortune.com/2014/06/12/theranos-blood-holmes/|archive-date=October 7, 2019}} Robertson became the company's first board member and introduced Holmes to venture capitalists.

By December 2004, Holmes had raised $6 million to fund the firm. By the end of 2010, Theranos had more than $92 million in venture capital. In July 2011, Holmes was introduced to former secretary of state George Shultz. After a two-hour meeting, he joined the Theranos board of directors.{{cite web|url=https://fortune.com/2014/06/12/theranos-board-directors/ |title=A singular board at Theranos|work=Fortune|last=Parloff|first=Roger|date=June 12, 2014|access-date=October 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161109082106/http://fortune.com/2014/06/12/theranos-board-directors/|archive-date=November 9, 2016|url-status=live}} Holmes was recognized for forming "the most illustrious board in U.S. corporate history" over the next three years.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/print-edition/2013/08/02/theranos-adds-kovacevich-to-all-star.html |title=Theranos adds Kovacevich to all-star board|work=San Francisco Business Times|last=Leuty|first=Ron|date=August 2, 2013|access-date=October 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170414013237/http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/print-edition/2013/08/02/theranos-adds-kovacevich-to-all-star.html|archive-date=April 14, 2017|url-status=live}}

Holmes operated Theranos in "stealth mode" without press releases or a company website until September 2013, when the company announced a partnership with Walgreens to launch in-store blood sample collection centers.{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/news/business/21656193-theranoss-boss-says-her-mission-extends-beyond-making-fortune-holmes-where-heart|title=Holmes is where the heart is|newspaper=The Economist|date=June 27, 2015|access-date=October 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201221758/http://www.economist.com/news/business/21656193-theranoss-boss-says-her-mission-extends-beyond-making-fortune-holmes-where-heart|archive-date=December 1, 2016|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/biotech/2013/09/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-walgreens.html|title=Secretive Theranos emerging (partly) from shadows|work=San Francisco Business Times|last=Leuty|first=Ron|date=September 9, 2013|access-date=October 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604162524/http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/blog/biotech/2013/09/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-walgreens.html|archive-date=June 4, 2016|url-status=live}} She was interviewed for Medscape by its editor-in-chief, Eric Topol, who praised her for "this phenomenal rebooting of laboratory medicine".{{cite web |last=Topol |first=Eric |title=Creative Disruption? She's 29 and Set to Reboot Lab Medicine |url=https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/814233_6 |website=Medscape |access-date=January 3, 2021 |archive-date=August 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821154614/https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/814233_6 |url-status=live }} Media attention increased in 2014, when Holmes appeared on the covers of Fortune, Forbes, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, and Inc.{{cite web|url=http://www.recode.net/2015/10/26/11620036/theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmess-five-best-cover-story-appearances|title=Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes's Five Best Cover Story Appearances, Ranked|website=Re/code|last=Kulwin|first=Noah|date=October 26, 2015|access-date=October 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018234632/http://www.recode.net/2015/10/26/11620036/theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmess-five-best-cover-story-appearances|archive-date=October 18, 2016|url-status=live}}

Forbes recognized Holmes as the world's youngest self-made female billionaire and ranked her #110 on the Forbes 400 in 2014.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/luisakroll/2016/10/06/from-bad-to-worse-forbes-400s-biggest-drop-off-elizabeth-holmes-announces-more-grim-news/|title=From Bad To Worse: Forbes 400's Biggest Drop-Off Elizabeth Holmes Announces More Grim News|last=Kroll|first=Luisa|website=Forbes|access-date=February 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212204332/https://www.forbes.com/sites/luisakroll/2016/10/06/from-bad-to-worse-forbes-400s-biggest-drop-off-elizabeth-holmes-announces-more-grim-news/|archive-date=February 12, 2020|url-status=live}} Theranos was valued at $9 billion and had raised more than $400 million in venture capital. By the end of 2014, her name appeared on 18 U.S. patents and 66 foreign patents.{{Cite news|url=http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/21-surprising-facts-about-the-world-s-youngest-female-billionaire.html|title=21 Surprising Facts About Billionaire Entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes|work=Inc.|last=Kim|first=Larry|date=July 1, 2015|access-date=October 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160727221353/http://www.inc.com/larry-kim/21-surprising-facts-about-the-world-s-youngest-female-billionaire.html|archive-date=July 27, 2016|url-status=live}} During 2015, Holmes established agreements with Cleveland Clinic, Capital Blue Cross, and AmeriHealth Caritas to use Theranos technology.

John Carreyrou of The Wall Street Journal initiated a secret, months-long investigation of Theranos after he received a tip from a medical expert who thought that Theranos's Edison blood testing device seemed suspicious. Carreyrou spoke to ex-employee whistleblowers and obtained company documents. When Holmes learned of the investigation, she initiated a campaign through her lawyer David Boies to stop Carreyrou from publishing, which included legal and financial threats against both the Journal and the whistleblowers.{{sfn|Carreyrou|2018a|p=279}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theringer.com/2018/5/22/17378494/bad-blood-theranos-john-carreyrou-interview|title=How John Carreyrou Exposed the Theranos Scam|last=Knibbs|first=Kate|date=May 22, 2018|website=The Ringer|access-date=February 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190913234430/https://www.theringer.com/2018/5/22/17378494/bad-blood-theranos-john-carreyrou-interview|archive-date=September 13, 2019|url-status=live}}

In October 2015, despite Boies's legal threats and strong-arm tactics, the Journal published Carreyrou's "bombshell article"{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-05-19/theranos-could-have-used-a-few-short-sellers |title=Theranos Could Have Used a Few Short Sellers |work=Bloomberg News |last=Fox|first=Justin |date=May 19, 2016 |access-date=August 15, 2018 |quote=John Carreyrou's first bombshell article in the Wall Street Journal about problems at the blood-testing startup Theranos |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815131429/https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-05-19/theranos-could-have-used-a-few-short-sellers |archive-date=August 15, 2018 |url-status=live }} detailing how the Edison device gave inaccurate results, and revealing that the company had been using commercially available machines manufactured by other companies for most of its testing.{{Cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/theranos-has-struggled-with-blood-tests-1444881901 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224173005/https://www.wsj.com/articles/theranos-has-struggled-with-blood-tests-1444881901 |archive-date=December 24, 2021 |url-status=dead |title=Hot Startup Theranos Has Struggled With Its Blood-Test Technology |last=Carreyrou |first=John |date=October 16, 2015 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |issn=0099-9660 |access-date=December 25, 2021 }} Carreyrou continued to report problems with the company and Holmes's conduct in a series of articles and, in 2018, published a book titled Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, detailing his investigation of Theranos.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/05/theranos-shutting-down--look-back-at-revelations-from-bad-blood.html|title=Infamous blood testing company Theranos is shutting down – look back at some of the top revelations about its demise|last=Huddleston|first=Tom Jr.|date=September 5, 2018|website=CNBC|access-date=February 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313151756/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/05/theranos-shutting-down--look-back-at-revelations-from-bad-blood.html|archive-date=March 13, 2020|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/news/author/john-carreyrou|title=John Carreyrou – News, Articles, Biography, Photos|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=February 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200213202522/https://www.wsj.com/news/author/john-carreyrou|archive-date=February 13, 2020|url-status=live}}

Holmes denied all the claims, calling the Journal a "tabloid" and promising the company would publish data on the accuracy of its tests.{{cite news|last=Stewart|first=James B.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/business/the-narrative-frays-for-theranos-and-elizabeth-holmes.html|title=The Narrative Frays for Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes|date=October 30, 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206184041/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/business/the-narrative-frays-for-theranos-and-elizabeth-holmes.html|archive-date=February 6, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Pollack|first=Andrew|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/business/chief-of-theranos-pledges-to-prove-blood-tests-reliability.html|title=Theranos Chief Yields to Calls for Proof of Blood Test's Reliability|date=October 27, 2015|work=The New York Times|access-date=March 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722113748/http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/27/business/chief-of-theranos-pledges-to-prove-blood-tests-reliability.html|archive-date=July 22, 2016|url-status=live}} She appeared on CNBC's Mad Money the same evening the article was published. Jim Cramer said, "The article was pretty brutal", to which Holmes responded, "This is what happens when you work to change things, first they think you're crazy, then they fight you, and then all of a sudden you change the world."{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/15/theranos-ceo-fires-back-at-wsj-i-was-shocked.html |title=Theranos CEO fires back at WSJ: I was shocked |website=Mad Money |last=Stevenson|first=Abigail |date=October 15, 2015 |access-date=August 15, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180815200748/https://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/15/theranos-ceo-fires-back-at-wsj-i-was-shocked.html |archive-date=August 15, 2018 |url-status=live }}

In January 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a warning letter to Theranos after an inspection of its Newark, California, laboratory uncovered irregularities with staff proficiency, procedures, and equipment.{{cite news|last=Duhaime-Ross|first=Arielle|url=https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/1/10869764/theranos-lab-warning-letter-consequences-patients|title=Here's what Theranos customers need to know|date=February 2, 2016|work=Verge|access-date=August 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171214182635/https://www.theverge.com/2016/2/1/10869764/theranos-lab-warning-letter-consequences-patients|archive-date=December 14, 2017|url-status=live}} CMS regulators proposed a two-year ban on Holmes from owning or operating a certified clinical laboratory after the company had not fixed problems in its California lab in March 2016.{{cite news|last=Abelson|first=Reed|title=Theranos Under Fire as U.S. Threatens Crippling Sanctions|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/business/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-proposed-ban.html|access-date=April 14, 2016|work=The New York Times|date=April 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414233345/http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/14/business/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-proposed-ban.html|archive-date=April 14, 2016|url-status=live}} On The Today Show, Holmes said she was "devastated we did not catch and fix these issues faster" and said the lab would be rebuilt with help from a new scientific and medical advisory board.{{Cite news|url=http://www.today.com/video/theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-i-m-devastated-about-blood-test-issues-668286019825|title=Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes: I'm 'devastated' about blood test issues|work=The Today Show|date=April 18, 2016|access-date=October 18, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161017101654/http://www.today.com/video/theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-i-m-devastated-about-blood-test-issues-668286019825|archive-date=October 17, 2016|url-status=live}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://time.com/4297840/elizabeth-holmes-theranos/|title=Elizabeth Holmes 'Devastated' Over Theranos Problems|magazine=Time|access-date=February 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411030924/http://time.com/4297840/elizabeth-holmes-theranos/|archive-date=April 11, 2018|url-status=live}}

In July 2016, CMS banned Holmes from owning, operating, or directing a blood-testing service for a period of two years. Theranos appealed that decision to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services appeals board.{{cite news |last1=Carreryou |first1=John |author-link=John Carreyrou |last2=Siconolfi |first2=Michael |last3=Weaver |first3=Christopher |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-regulator-bans-theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-from-operating-labs-for-two-years-1467956064 |title=U.S. Regulator Bans Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes From Operating Labs for Two Years |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=July 8, 2016 |access-date=December 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211225184215/https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-regulator-bans-theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-from-operating-labs-for-two-years-1467956064 |archive-date=December 25, 2021 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }} Shortly thereafter, Walgreens ended its relationship with Theranos and closed its in-store blood collection centers.{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2016/06/12/walgreens-finally-cuts-ties-with-theranos/|title=Walgreens Ends Theranos Relationship, Shutters 40 Blood Test Centers|last=Japsen|first=Bruce|website=Forbes|access-date=February 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221153736/https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2016/06/12/walgreens-finally-cuts-ties-with-theranos/|archive-date=February 21, 2020|url-status=live}} The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also ordered the company to cease use of its Capillary Tube Nanotainer device, one of its core inventions.{{cite web |title=Pharmacy Inspection, Theranos, Inc., Newark, CA 483 |date=September 16, 2015 |first=Ramesh |last=Balwani |access-date=May 18, 2018 |website=Food and Drug Administration |location=Washington, DC |url=https://www.fda.gov/ucm/groups/fdagov-public/@fdagov-afda-orgs/documents/document/ucm469395.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180414225004/https://www.fda.gov/ucm/groups/fdagov-public/@fdagov-afda-orgs/documents/document/ucm469395.pdf |archive-date=April 14, 2018 |url-status=live }}

In 2017, the State of Arizona filed suit against Theranos, alleging that the company had sold 1.5 million blood tests to Arizonans while concealing or misrepresenting important facts about those tests. In April 2017, the company settled the lawsuit by agreeing to refund the cost of the tests to consumers, and to pay $225,000 in civil fines and attorney fees, for a total of $4.65 million.{{cite news|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-reaches-465-million-settlement-with-arizona-attorney-general-2017-4|title=Theranos just agreed to refund 175,000 people in Arizona who took its tests|last=Ramsey|first=Lydia|work=Business Insider|date=April 18, 2017|access-date=September 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181028225621/https://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-reaches-465-million-settlement-with-arizona-attorney-general-2017-4|archive-date=October 28, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last=Alltucker|first=Ken|title=Theranos reaches $4.65 million fraud settlement with Arizona|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/health/2017/04/18/theranos-reaches-465-million-settlement-arizona-blood-testing/100582618/|access-date=September 9, 2021|website=The Arizona Republic|archive-date=May 18, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220518013530/https://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/health/2017/04/18/theranos-reaches-465-million-settlement-arizona-blood-testing/100582618/|url-status=live}} Other reported ongoing actions include an unspecified investigation by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and two class action fraud lawsuits. Holmes denied any wrongdoing.

On May 16, 2017, approximately 99 percent of Theranos shareholders reached an agreement with the company to dismiss all litigation and potential litigation in exchange for shares of preferred stock. Holmes released a portion of her equity to offset any dilution of stock value to non-participating shareholders.{{Cite press release|url=http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170516006652/en/Theranos-Finalizes-Shareholder-Recapitalization|title=Theranos Finalizes Shareholder Recapitalization|publisher=Theranos Inc.|via=Business Wire|date=May 16, 2017|access-date=July 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825061647/http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170516006652/en/Theranos-Finalizes-Shareholder-Recapitalization|archive-date=August 25, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Balakrishnan|first=Anita|title=Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes is giving away her shares to dodge lawsuits, report says|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/23/theranos-sell-shares-to-investors-promise-not-to-sue.html|access-date=April 10, 2017|work=CNBC|date=March 23, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170411055602/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/03/23/theranos-sell-shares-to-investors-promise-not-to-sue.html|archive-date=April 11, 2017|url-status=live}}

In March 2018, the SEC charged Holmes and Theranos's former president, Ramesh Balwani, with fraud by taking more than $700 million from investors while advertising a false product. The charges of fraud included the company's false claim that its technology was being used by the U.S. Department of Defense in combat situations.{{Cite news|last=della Cava|first=Marco|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/03/14/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-charged-massive-fraud/424670002/|title=She was 'the next Steve Jobs.' Now, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is charged with fraud|work=USA Today|access-date=March 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315140702/https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/03/14/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-charged-massive-fraud/424670002/|archive-date=March 15, 2018|url-status=live}} The company also lied when it claimed to have a $100-million revenue stream in 2014. That year, the company only made $100,000.{{Cite news|last=Cooper|first=Daniel|url=https://www.engadget.com/2018/03/14/sec-charges-theranos-and-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-with-massive-frau/|title=SEC charges Theranos and CEO Elizabeth Holmes with 'massive fraud'|work=Engadget|access-date=March 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315195827/https://www.engadget.com/2018/03/14/sec-charges-theranos-and-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-with-massive-frau/|archive-date=March 15, 2018|url-status=live}} On March 14, 2018, Holmes settled the lawsuit.{{cite news |last=Ho |first=Catherine |date=March 14, 2018 |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Theranos-founder-to-pay-500-000-to-settle-12753129.php |title=Theranos founder to pay $500,000 to settle 'massive fraud' charges |work=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=June 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616180357/https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Theranos-founder-to-pay-500-000-to-settle-12753129.php |archive-date=June 16, 2018 |url-status=live}} The terms of Holmes's settlement included surrendering voting control of Theranos, returning 18.9 million shares to the company, a ban on holding an officer or director position in a public company for 10 years, and a $500,000 fine.{{cite news | last1=Robinson | first1=Matt | last2=Spalding | first2=Rebecca | title=Blood, Fraud and Money Led to Theranos CEO's Fall From Grace | work=Bloomberg | date=March 14, 2018 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-14/theranos-ceo-holmes-accused-of-fraud-by-sec-jeraxw6a | access-date=March 15, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314224354/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-03-14/theranos-ceo-holmes-accused-of-fraud-by-sec-jeraxw6a | archive-date=March 14, 2018 | url-status=live }}{{Cite press release|url=https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-41|title=Theranos, CEO Holmes, and Former President Balwani Charged With Massive Fraud|publisher=Securities and Exchange Commission|access-date=March 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315025954/https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2018-41|archive-date=March 15, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.inc.com/business-insider/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-founder-ceo-sec-fraud-blood-test-investigation-settlement-sunny-balwani.html|title=SEC Charges Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes With 'Massive Fraud'|last=Ramsey|first=Lydia|website=Inc.|date=June 15, 2018|access-date=June 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315022212/https://www.inc.com/business-insider/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-founder-ceo-sec-fraud-blood-test-investigation-settlement-sunny-balwani.html|archive-date=March 15, 2018|url-status=live}}

At its height in 2015, Theranos had more than 800 employees.{{cite news|last=Carreyrou|first=John|date=April 10, 2018|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/theranos-lays-off-most-of-its-remaining-workforce-1523382373|title=Theranos Lays Off Most of Its Remaining Workforce|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=June 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615221243/https://www.wsj.com/articles/theranos-lays-off-most-of-its-remaining-workforce-1523382373|archive-date=June 15, 2018|url-status=dead}} It dismissed 340 people in October 2016 and an additional 155 in January 2017.{{cite web |last=Vincent|first=James |date=January 9, 2017 |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/9/14211246/theranos-fires-40-percent-employees-2017 |title=Theranos starts 2017 by firing 40 percent of its staff |website=The Verge |access-date=June 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616203824/https://www.theverge.com/2017/1/9/14211246/theranos-fires-40-percent-employees-2017 |archive-date=June 16, 2018 |url-status=live }} In April 2018, Theranos filed a WARN Act notice with the State of California, announcing its plans to permanently lay off 105 employees, leaving it with fewer than two dozen employees.{{cite web |title=Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Report |url=http://www.edd.ca.gov/jobs_and_training/warn/WARN-Report-for-7-1-2017-to-05-10-2018.pdf |date=May 10, 2018 |access-date=May 18, 2018 |website=Employment Development Department |location=State of California |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180519204342/http://www.edd.ca.gov/jobs_and_training/warn/WARN-Report-for-7-1-2017-to-05-10-2018.pdf |archive-date=May 19, 2018 |url-status=live }} Most of the remaining employees were laid off in August 2018. On September 5, 2018, the company announced that it had begun the process of formally dissolving, with its remaining cash and assets to be distributed to its creditors.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/blood-testing-firm-theranos-to-dissolve-1536115130|last=Carreyrou|first=John|title=Blood-Testing Firm Theranos to Dissolve|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=May 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507131908/https://www.wsj.com/articles/blood-testing-firm-theranos-to-dissolve-1536115130|archive-date=May 7, 2020|url-status=dead}}

{{Main|United States v. Elizabeth A. Holmes, et al.}}

On June 15, 2018, after an investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California that lasted more than two years, a federal grand jury indicted Holmes and Balwani on nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.{{Cite news|last=Johnson |first=Carolyn Y.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/elizabeth-holmes-founder-of-blood-testing-company-theranos-indicted-on-wire-fraud-federal-authorities-announce/2018/06/15/8779f538-70df-11e8-bd50-b80389a4e569_story.html|title=Elizabeth Holmes, founder of blood-testing company Theranos, indicted on wire fraud charges|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=June 15, 2018|issn=0190-8286|access-date=June 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191011102418/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/elizabeth-holmes-founder-of-blood-testing-company-theranos-indicted-on-wire-fraud-federal-authorities-announce/2018/06/15/8779f538-70df-11e8-bd50-b80389a4e569_story.html|archive-date=October 11, 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/theranos-ceo/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-steps-down-as-ceo-idUSL4N1TH5TY |title=Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes steps down as CEO |work=Reuters |date=June 15, 2018 |access-date=June 16, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626212741/https://www.reuters.com/article/theranos-ceo/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-steps-down-as-ceo-idUSL4N1TH5TY |archive-date=June 26, 2019 |url-status=live }} Both pleaded not guilty. The prosecution alleged that Holmes and Balwani had engaged in two criminal schemes: one to defraud investors, and a second to defraud doctors and patients.{{cite news|last=Solon|first=Olivia|date=June 15, 2018|url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jun/15/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-ramesh-balwani-criminal-charges|title=Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes charged with criminal fraud|work=The Guardian|access-date=December 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617050343/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jun/15/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-ramesh-balwani-criminal-charges|archive-date=June 17, 2018|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/theranos-founder-and-former-chief-operating-officer-charged-alleged-wire-fraud-schemes|title=Theranos Founder and Former Chief Operating Officer Charged In Alleged Wire Fraud Schemes|publisher=U.S. Department of Justice|date=June 15, 2018|access-date=December 25, 2021|archive-date=February 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210208200624/https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/theranos-founder-and-former-chief-operating-officer-charged-alleged-wire-fraud-schemes|url-status=live}} After the indictment was issued, Holmes resigned as CEO of Theranos but remained chairwoman of its board of directors.

Holmes was tried in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, with U.S. district judge Edward Davila presiding. She hired defense lawyers from Williams & Connolly, a prominent American law firm that specializes in white-collar crime defense. The trial began on August 31, 2021,{{cite web|date=2021-06-21|title=U.S. v. Elizabeth Holmes, et al.|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/us-v-elizabeth-holmes-et-al|access-date=2021-07-29|publisher=U.S. Department of Justice|archive-date=March 21, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321024204/https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/us-v-elizabeth-holmes-et-al|url-status=live}} after being delayed for over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Holmes's pregnancy.{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/12/elizabeth-holmes-trial-delayed-because-shes-pregant.html |title=Elizabeth Holmes trial delayed because she's pregnant |work=CNBC |first=Yasmin |last=Khorram |date=March 12, 2021 |access-date=March 12, 2021 |archive-date=March 12, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312215000/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/12/elizabeth-holmes-trial-delayed-because-shes-pregant.html |url-status=live }} At trial, Holmes testified on her own behalf for seven days, claiming among other things that she was misled by her staff about the technology, and that Balwani held sway over her during the romantic relationship they had and which was still ongoing when the alleged criminal acts happened.{{cite news|first=Rachel|last=Lerman|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/11/29/elizabeth-holmes-testimony-day-four/|title=Elizabeth Holmes testifies her ex-partner was controlling, sexually assaulted her|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 29, 2021|access-date=November 29, 2021|archive-date=November 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211129131119/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/11/29/elizabeth-holmes-testimony-day-four/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/11/29/elizabeth-holmes-trial-theranos-founder-tries-to-quash-allegation-she-lied-about-military-use/|title=Elizabeth Holmes trial: Theranos president Balwani forced sex on Holmes, she testifies|first=Ethan|last=Baron|newspaper=The Mercury News|place=San Jose|date=November 30, 2021|access-date=December 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201205313/https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/11/29/elizabeth-holmes-trial-theranos-founder-tries-to-quash-allegation-she-lied-about-military-use/|archive-date=December 1, 2021|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/technology/elizabeth-holmes-trial-jury.html |title=A jury is selected for the Elizabeth Holmes trial |work=The New York Times |first=Erin |last=Griffith |date=September 2, 2021 |access-date=September 2, 2021 |archive-date=September 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902171826/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/02/technology/elizabeth-holmes-trial-jury.html |url-status=live }} The case's evidence outlined Holmes's role in faked demonstrations, falsified validation reports, misleading claims about contracts, and overstated financials at Theranos.

On January 3, 2022, the jury found Holmes guilty on four counts of defrauding investors: three counts of wire fraud, and one of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. She was found not guilty on four counts of defrauding patients, and the jury returned a "no verdict" on three counts of wire fraud against investors. The judge declared a mistrial on the last three counts, and the government later agreed to dismiss them.{{cite web |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/01/03/elizabeth-holmes-trial-split-verdict-finds-theranos-founder-guilty-of-four-counts-of-criminal-fraud-not-guilty-on-four-additional-accounts/ |title=Elizabeth Holmes trial: Split verdict finds Theranos founder guilty of four counts of criminal fraud, not guilty on four other counts |work=Mercury News |first=Ethan |last=Baron |date=January 3, 2022 |access-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105052403/https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/01/03/elizabeth-holmes-trial-split-verdict-finds-theranos-founder-guilty-of-four-counts-of-criminal-fraud-not-guilty-on-four-additional-accounts/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/exclusive-juror-speaks-convicting-elizabeth-holmes/story?id=82082789 |title=Juror speaks out after convicting Elizabeth Holmes |work=ABC News |first=Miles |last=Cohen |date=January 5, 2022 |access-date=January 6, 2022 |archive-date=January 5, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220105234745/https://abcnews.go.com/US/exclusive-juror-speaks-convicting-elizabeth-holmes/story?id=82082789 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/11/elizabeth-holmes-sentencing-proposed-for-september.html |title=Elizabeth Holmes sentencing proposed for September |work=CNBC |first=Yasmin |last=Khorram |date=January 11, 2022 |access-date=January 12, 2022 |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220112013435/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/11/elizabeth-holmes-sentencing-proposed-for-september.html |url-status=live }} Holmes waited on sentencing while remaining 'at liberty' on $500,000 bail, secured with property.{{cite web |last=Paul |first=Kari |date=2022-01-14 |title=Elizabeth Holmes to be sentenced nine months after guilty verdict |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/13/elizabeth-holmes-sentence-september-fraud |access-date=2022-04-03 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=April 3, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403064546/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/13/elizabeth-holmes-sentence-september-fraud |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/convicted-theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-130337282.html |title=Convicted Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes will spend the summer a free woman after a judge set her sentencing for late September |work=Business Insider |via=Yahoo! News |first=Isobel Asher |last=Hamilton |date=January 13, 2022 |access-date=January 13, 2022 |archive-date=January 13, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113143210/https://news.yahoo.com/convicted-theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-130337282.html |url-status=live }} She faced a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution, for each count of wire fraud and for each conspiracy count.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/technology/elizabeth-holmes-guilty.html |title=Elizabeth Holmes is found guilty of four counts of fraud. |work=The New York Times |first1=Erin |last1=Griffith |first2=Erin |last2=Woo |date=January 3, 2022 |access-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-date=January 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104004038/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/03/technology/elizabeth-holmes-guilty.html |url-status=live }}

On November 18, 2022, Davila sentenced Holmes to {{fraction|11|1|4}} years in federal prison and ordered her and Balwani jointly to pay $452 million in restitution to the victims of the fraud.{{cite web |url=https://news.yahoo.com/finance/news/court-denies-elizabeth-holmes-request-021033063.html |first=Jody |last=Godoy |date=May 16, 2023 |work=Yahoo! News |agency=Reuters |title=Theranos founder Holmes loses bid to stay out of prison, hit with huge restitution bill}}{{cite web |last=Keenan |first=Alexis |date=November 18, 2022 |title=Elizabeth Holmes, Theranos founder, sentenced to 11.25 years in prison |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-founder-sentenced-to-1125-years-in-prison-222816236.html |access-date=November 19, 2022 |work=Yahoo! Finance}} He recommended she be incarcerated at Federal Prison Camp, Bryan, a minimum-security federal prison in Bryan, Texas. On May 17, 2023, Davila ruled that she must surrender to custody on May 30, after accepting that she needed time to arrange childcare for her two children.{{cite web |last=Liedtke |first=Michael |date=May 17, 2023 |title=Elizabeth Holmes will start 11-year prison sentence on May 30 after losing her bid to remain free |url=https://apnews.com/article/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-prison-reporting-date-9fd718cd012d49f68c654bad89abb0ed |access-date=May 17, 2023 |work=Associated Press}} Holmes reported to prison on May 30.{{cite news |last=Paul |first=Kari |title=Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes turns herself in for 11-year prison term |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/30/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-prison-sentence-start |work=The Guardian |date=May 30, 2023}} In July 2023, the Bureau of Prisons projected that Holmes would be released from prison in 2032, approximately two years early, in accordance with the Bureau's guidelines for good conduct time.{{cite news |last=Paul |first=Kari |title=Elizabeth Holmes' 11-year prison sentence shortened by two years |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jul/10/elizabeth-holmes-11-year-prison-sentence-shortened-by-two-years |access-date=11 June 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=11 July 2023}}{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-prison-early-release-537ea5a5b9f9bed735a9f62a7a4dfb07 |title=Elizabeth Holmes on track for early release from her 11-year prison sentence for Theranos scam |date=11 July 2023 |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=11 June 2024 }}

Holmes appealed her conviction and sentence to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Her lawyers argued that Davila had committed legal errors by, among other things, allowing the prosecution to introduce certain government reports and expert witness analysis, by restricting their cross-examination of former Theranos laboratory director Adam Rosendorff, and by excluding some of Balwani's testimony. A panel consisting of U.S. circuit judges Jacqueline Nguyen, Ryan D. Nelson, and Mary M. Schroeder heard oral argument in her case in June 2024.{{cite news |last=Morrow |first=Allison |date=11 June 2024 |title=Elizabeth Holmes, Silicon Valley's most famous convict, makes her long-shot appeal |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/06/11/business/elizabeth-holmes-appeal/index.html |work=CNN |access-date=11 June 2024}} In February 2025, the Ninth Circuit rejected Holmes' arguments and affirmed her conviction and sentence.{{cite news |last1=Montgomery |first1=Blake |title=US court upholds Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes's conviction |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/feb/24/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-conviction |access-date=February 24, 2025 |work=The Guardian |date=February 24, 2025}}

Holmes partnered with Carlos Slim in June 2015 to improve blood testing in Mexico.{{cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/doliaestevez/2015/06/22/with-carlos-slim-billionaire-elizabeth-holmes-brings-innovative-blood-testing-method-to-mexico/#8a29eafa7892 | title = With Carlos Slim, Billionaire Elizabeth Holmes Brings Innovative Blood Testing Method To Mexico | work = Forbes | date = June 22, 2015 | access-date = October 24, 2016 | last= Estevez |first=Dolia | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025114344/http://www.forbes.com/sites/doliaestevez/2015/06/22/with-carlos-slim-billionaire-elizabeth-holmes-brings-innovative-blood-testing-method-to-mexico/#8a29eafa7892 | archive-date = October 25, 2016 | url-status = live }} In October 2015, she announced #IronSisters to help women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers.{{cite news |url=http://fortune.com/2015/10/12/elizabeth-holmes-calls-on-women/ | title = Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes calls on women to help each other | work = Fortune | date = October 12, 2015 | access-date = October 24, 2016 | last= Lev-Ram |first=Michal | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025111431/http://fortune.com/2015/10/12/elizabeth-holmes-calls-on-women/ | archive-date = October 25, 2016 | url-status = live }} In 2015, she helped to draft and pass a law in Arizona to let people obtain and pay for lab tests without requiring insurance or healthcare provider approval, while misrepresenting the accuracy and effectiveness of the Theranos device.{{sfn|Carreyrou|2018a|p=259}}{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/07/02/new-arizona-law-and-fda-approval-gives-theranos-something-to-celebrate/29634373/ | title = Now no doctor's note needed for blood test in Arizona | work =USA Today | date = July 2, 2015 | access-date = October 24, 2016 | last = della Cava | first = Marco | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201075629/http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/07/02/new-arizona-law-and-fda-approval-gives-theranos-something-to-celebrate/29634373/ | archive-date = December 1, 2016 | url-status = live }}

Theranos's board and investors included many influential figures.{{sfn|Carreyrou|2018a|pp=175, 181}}{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/04/health/theranos-investors-murdoch-devos-walmart.html |title=Caught in the Theranos Wreckage: Betsy DeVos, Rupert Murdoch and Walmart's Waltons |work=The New York Times |last=Abelson |first=Reed |date=May 4, 2018 |access-date=September 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906233715/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/04/health/theranos-investors-murdoch-devos-walmart.html |archive-date=September 6, 2018 |url-status=live }} Holmes's first major investor was Tim Draper – Silicon Valley venture capitalist and father of Holmes's childhood friend Jesse Draper – who "cut Holmes a check" for $1 million upon hearing her initial pitch for the firm that would become Theranos.{{cite book|url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dropout/id1449500734?mt=2|title=The Dropout by ABC News on Apple Podcasts|access-date=January 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129064210/https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-dropout/id1449500734?mt=2|archive-date=January 29, 2019|url-status=live}}{{cite AV media | people=Gibney, Alex (Director) | date=March 18, 2019 | title=The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley| medium=Motion picture | location=U.S.| publisher=HBO}} Theranos's pool of major investors expanded to include Rupert Murdoch, the Walton family, the DeVos family including Betsy DeVos, the Cox family of Cox Enterprises and Carlos Slim Helú. Each of these investors lost tens to hundreds of millions of dollars when Theranos folded.

One of Holmes's first board members was George Shultz.{{sfn|Carreyrou|2018a|pp=174–175}} With Shultz's early involvement aiding Holmes's recruitment efforts, the 12-member Theranos board eventually included:{{cite news |url=http://fortune.com/2015/10/15/theranos-board-leadership/ |title=Theranos' board: Plenty of political connections, little relevant expertise |work=Fortune |last=Reingold |first=Jennifer |date=October 15, 2015 |access-date=September 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180906195744/http://fortune.com/2015/10/15/theranos-board-leadership/ |archive-date=September 6, 2018 |url-status=live }} Henry Kissinger, a former secretary of state; William Perry, a former secretary of defense; James Mattis, a future secretary of defense; Gary Roughead, a retired U.S. Navy admiral; Bill Frist, a former U.S. senator (R-TN); Sam Nunn, a former U.S. senator (D-GA); and former CEOs Dick Kovacevich of Wells Fargo and Riley Bechtel of Bechtel.{{sfn|Carreyrou|2018a|pp=181, 207}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2016/12/08/theranos-email-accidentally-outs-investors.html|title=Theranos' email gaffe accidentally outs investors, including Robert Kraft's company|last1=Harris|first1=David L.|last2=McDermid|first2=Riley|work=San Francisco Business Times|date=December 8, 2016|access-date=December 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224064430/https://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/news/2016/12/08/theranos-email-accidentally-outs-investors.html|archive-date=December 24, 2021|url-status=live}}

Before the collapse of Theranos, Holmes received widespread acclaim. In 2015, she was appointed a member of the Harvard Medical School Board of Fellows{{cite book |url=https://hms.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Benefactor_Fall%202015.pdf |title=Three Health Care Leaders Join HMS Board of Fellows|date=Fall 2015 |publisher=Harvard University |access-date=May 7, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170804030955/https://hms.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Benefactor_Fall%202015.pdf |archive-date=August 4, 2017 |url-status=live }} and was named one of Time magazine's "Time 100 most influential people".{{cite magazine|url=http://time.com/3822734/elizabeth-holmes-2015-time-100/|title=The 100 Most Influential People: Elizabeth Holmes|last=Kissinger|first=Henry A.|author-link=Henry Kissinger|date=April 16, 2015|magazine=Time|access-date=June 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605210115/http://time.com/3822734/elizabeth-holmes-2015-time-100/|archive-date=June 5, 2016|url-status=live}} Holmes received the Under 30 Doers Award from Forbes and was ranked number 73 in its 2015 list of "the world's most powerful women".{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhedgecock/2015/10/05/elizabeth-holmes-on-using-business-to-change-the-world/#476cd48d202f|title=Elizabeth Holmes On Using Business To Change The World|last=Hedgecock|first=Sarah|work=Forbes|access-date=August 27, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505182814/https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahhedgecock/2015/10/05/elizabeth-holmes-on-using-business-to-change-the-world/#476cd48d202f|archive-date=May 5, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/pictures/gjlk45ei/elizabeth-holmes/|title=The World's Most Powerful Women 2015: 19 Newcomers|date=2015|work=Forbes|access-date=June 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160612083451/http://www.forbes.com/pictures/gjlk45ei/elizabeth-holmes/|archive-date=June 12, 2016|url-status=live}} She was also named Woman of the Year by Glamour and received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Pepperdine University.{{cite news|last=Fenn|first=Donna|url=http://www.glamour.com/story/elizabeth-holmes|title=Elizabeth Holmes Wants You to Have Control of Your Health Info|date=October 29, 2015|work=Glamour Magazine|access-date=May 31, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160613032500/http://www.glamour.com/story/elizabeth-holmes|archive-date=June 13, 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.biospace.com/article/theranos-ceo-b-elizabeth-holmes-b-will-get-to-keep-her-honorary-doctorate-from-pepperdine-university-/|title=Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes Will Get to Keep Her Honorary Doctorate from Pepperdine University|website=BioSpace|date=June 4, 2016 |access-date=March 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327091217/https://www.biospace.com/article/theranos-ceo-b-elizabeth-holmes-b-will-get-to-keep-her-honorary-doctorate-from-pepperdine-university-/|archive-date=March 27, 2019|url-status=live}}

Holmes was awarded the 2015 Horatio Alger Award of the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, making her its youngest recipient in history.{{cite news |url=https://fortune.com/2014/12/03/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-young-fortune-mpw-next-gen/ |title=Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes: Young entrepreneurs need 'a mission' |last=Parloff |first=Roger |work=Fortune |access-date=2024-12-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703024947/http://fortune.com/2014/12/03/theranos-elizabeth-holmes-young-fortune-mpw-next-gen/ |archive-date=July 3, 2016 |url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.horatioalger.org/members/member-detail/?id=003j000000ibsbJAAQ|title=2015 Horatio Alger Award Winner Elizabeth Holmes|website=Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans|access-date=May 31, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160807121007/https://www.horatioalger.org/members/member-detail/?id=003j000000ibsbJAAQ|archive-date=August 7, 2016|url-status=live}} She previously had been named Fortune{{'}}s Businessperson of the Year and had been listed in its 40 Under 40 feature.{{cite news|url=http://fortune.com/businessperson-of-the-year/2014/elizabeth-holmes-14/?iid=leftrail|title=14. Elizabeth Holmes|date=2014|website=Fortune|access-date=June 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910105144/http://fortune.com/businessperson-of-the-year/2014/elizabeth-holmes-14/?iid=leftrail|archive-date=September 10, 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://fortune.com/40-under-40/2014/elizabeth-holmes-9/|title=9. Elizabeth Holmes|website=Fortune|date=2014|access-date=June 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611102109/http://fortune.com/40-under-40/2014/elizabeth-holmes-9/|archive-date=June 11, 2016|url-status=live}} In 2015, she was a member of Bloomberg's 50 Most Influential.{{cite web|website=Bloomberg|first=Robert S. |last=Dieterich|title=Bloomberg Markets Most Influential|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2015-markets-most-influential/#intro|date=September 2015}} In the same year actor Jared Leto presented her with a Glamour Award{{cite news |last=Chapman |first=Wilson |title=Jared Leto Recalls Presenting Elizabeth Holmes With a Woman of the Year Award: 'I Liked Her a Lot' |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/jared-leto-elizabeth-holmes-amanda-seyfried-the-dropout-1235292949/ |work=Variety |date=14 June 2022}} and then-US President Barack Obama named her as Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.{{cite news |last=Tau |first=Byron |title=Meet President Obama's Entrepreneurship Ambassadors |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-WB-55160 |work=Wall Street Journal}} In 2016, Fortune named Holmes in its article on "The World's 19 Most Disappointing Leaders".

Holmes was an admirer of Apple founder Steve Jobs, and deliberately copied his style, frequently dressing in a black turtleneck sweater, as Jobs did.{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/21/technology/theranos-bad-blood/index.html|title='Bad Blood' explores the culture inside disgraced startup Theranos|first=Sara Ashley |last=O'Brien|work=CNN|date=May 21, 2018|access-date=May 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331234008/https://money.cnn.com/2018/05/21/technology/theranos-bad-blood/index.html|archive-date=March 31, 2019|url-status=live}} Holmes said her mother dressed her in black turtlenecks when she was young{{cite news |title=Theranos Founder Faces a Test of Technology, and Reputation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/20/business/theranos-founder-faces-a-test-of-technology-and-reputation.html |work=The New York Times |date=December 19, 2015 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |last=Abelson |first=Reed |archive-date=December 19, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151219224309/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/20/business/theranos-founder-faces-a-test-of-technology-and-reputation.html |url-status=live }} and that she had worn the turtlenecks beginning around the age of eight,{{Cite journal |last1=Richards |first1=Harriette |last2=Mattioli |first2=Fabio |date=July 2021 |title=Fashioning founders: Dress and gender in the entrepreneurial ecosystem |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/gwao.12641 |journal=Gender, Work & Organization |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=1363–1378 |doi=10.1111/gwao.12641 |s2cid=233974952 |issn=0968-6673|hdl=11343/265900 |hdl-access=free }} but she also claims that she started wearing black turtlenecks upon founding the company in 2003.{{cite web |last=Kolhatkar |first=Sheelah |title=Can Elizabeth Holmes Save Her Unicorn? |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-10/can-theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-fend-off-her-critics-#xj4y7vzkg |website=Bloomberg |date=December 10, 2015 |access-date=April 4, 2023 |archive-date=July 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160715200846/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-12-10/can-theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-fend-off-her-critics- |url-status=live }} An employee said she suggested Holmes copy Jobs's famous Issey Miyake turtleneck look in 2007.{{cite web |last=Minutaglio |first=Rose |title=Elizabeth Holmes Needed Fashion Advice. I Suggested A Black Turtleneck |url=https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a26946867/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-black-turtleneck-ana-arriola/ |website=Elle |date=March 28, 2019 |access-date=August 12, 2020 |archive-date=March 28, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328211804/https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/a26946867/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-black-turtleneck-ana-arriola/ |url-status=live }}

During most of her public appearances, she spoke in a deep baritone voice, although a former Theranos colleague later claimed he heard her speak in a voice stereotypical of a woman her age to welcome him when he was hired.{{sfn|Carreyrou|2018a|p=97}}{{cite web|last=Leskin|first=Paige|title=Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes used a deep baritone voice at almost all times, but former insiders say it was faked|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-deep-voice-2019-3|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200212202302/https://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-deep-voice-2019-3|archive-date=February 12, 2020|access-date=February 12, 2020|website=Business Insider}} Gardner of Stanford also denies that Holmes has a naturally deep voice.{{cite web |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/06/03/she-saw-through-elizabeth-holmes-now-stanford-professor-is-star-in-theranos-saga/ |title= She saw through Elizabeth Holmes. Now Stanford professor is star in Theranos saga. |last= Savidge |first= Nico |date= June 3, 2019 |publisher= The Mercury News |access-date= March 6, 2022 |archive-date= March 6, 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220306115546/https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/06/03/she-saw-through-elizabeth-holmes-now-stanford-professor-is-star-in-theranos-saga/ |url-status= live }} Her family, however, has maintained that her deep voice is authentic.{{cite web|title=Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes' Deep Voice Isn't Fake, Family Insists|url=https://www.tmz.com/2019/03/21/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-fake-voice-debunked-family/|access-date=November 17, 2020|website=TMZ|date=March 21, 2019 |archive-date=November 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107233501/https://www.tmz.com/2019/03/21/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-fake-voice-debunked-family/|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|last=Desta|first=Yohana|title=Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes's Family Swears Her Deep Voice Is Real|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/03/elizabeth-holmes-voice-family|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200303050104/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2019/03/elizabeth-holmes-voice-family|archive-date=March 3, 2020|access-date=May 7, 2020|magazine=Vanity Fair|date=March 21, 2019}} In a 2023 New York Times interview, Holmes spoke in her natural, higher pitch voice, and confirmed that the low voice was an affectation.{{Cite news |last=Chozick |first=Amy |date=2023-05-07 |title=Liz Holmes Wants You to Forget About Elizabeth |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/07/business/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-interview.html |access-date=2023-05-10 |issn=0362-4331}}

File:Elizabeth Holmes at a Nuclear nonproliferation discussion in 2013 - 130417-D-NI589-107 (cropped 2).jpg

Holmes was romantically involved with the Pakistani-born technology entrepreneur Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, who immigrated to India and then the US.{{cite web|last1=Dunn|first1=Taylor|last2=Thompson|first2=Victoria|last3=Jarvis|first3=Rebecca|title=When Theranos' remarkable blood-test claims began to unravel: 'The Dropout' episode 5|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/theranos-remarkable-blood-test-claims-began-unravel/story?id=61173853|date=March 14, 2019|access-date=14 October 2021|website=ABC News|archive-date=October 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211013122829/https://abcnews.go.com/Business/theranos-remarkable-blood-test-claims-began-unravel/story?id=61173853|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://people.com/movies/sunny-balwani-elizabeth-holmes-former-boyfriend/|title=Who Is Sunny Balwani? All About Elizabeth Holmes's Ex-Boyfriend and Former Theranos President|last=Fernández|first=Alexia|work=People|date=March 27, 2019|access-date=December 23, 2021|archive-date=December 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224065610/https://people.com/movies/sunny-balwani-elizabeth-holmes-former-boyfriend/|url-status=live}} She met him in 2002 during a trip to Beijing as part of Stanford University's Mandarin program. Holmes was 18 at the time and had just graduated from high school; Balwani is 19 years older than Holmes and he was married to another woman at the time.{{cite web|last=Pflanzer|first=Lydia Ramsey|title=The mysterious story of former Theranos president Sunny Balwani, who was in a relationship with Elizabeth Holmes and now faces criminal charges|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-former-president-sunny-balwani-role-in-the-company-2018-5|access-date=2022-02-21|website=Business Insider|archive-date=February 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220221183113/https://www.businessinsider.com/theranos-former-president-sunny-balwani-role-in-the-company-2018-5|url-status=live}}

Balwani divorced his wife in 2002{{cite news |url=https://unicourt.com/case/ca-sfc-keiko-fujimoto-vs-ramesh-balwani-156617 |title=Keiko Fujimoto Vs. Ramesh Balwani |agency=San Francisco County Superior Courts |website=UniCourt |date=February 14, 2002 |access-date=January 11, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190112150230/https://unicourt.com/case/ca-sfc-keiko-fujimoto-vs-ramesh-balwani-156617 |archive-date=January 12, 2019 |url-status=live }} and became romantically involved with Holmes in 2003, about the same time Holmes dropped out of university. The couple moved into an apartment together in 2005. Although Balwani did not officially join Theranos until 2009, when he was given the title of chief operating officer, he was advising Holmes behind the scenes from the company's inception. Balwani left Theranos in 2016 in the wake of investigations. The circumstances of his departure are unclear; Holmes has stated that she fired him, but Balwani says that he left of his own accord.

On November 29, 2021, Holmes testified that she had been raped while she was a student at Stanford and that she sought solace from Balwani in the aftermath of the incident. She also said Balwani was very controlling during their romantic relationship, which lasted more than a decade, and at times he berated and sexually abused her. In her testimony, she stated he also wanted to "kill the person" she was and create a "new Elizabeth". However, she also testified that Balwani had not forced her to make the false statements to investors, business partners, journalists and company directors that had been described in the case.{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/elizabeth-holmes-trial-11-29-21/index.html|title=Live updates: Elizabeth Holmes testifies in her own trial|first1=Sara Ashley|last1=O'Brien|first2=Rishi|last2=Iyengar|date=November 29, 2021|website=CNN|access-date=November 30, 2021|archive-date=November 30, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211130020726/https://www.cnn.com/business/live-news/elizabeth-holmes-trial-11-29-21/index.html|url-status=live}} In court filings, Balwani has "categorically" denied abuse allegations, calling them "false and inflammatory."{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/us/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-face-cross-examination-fraud-trial-2021-11-30/|title=Theranos' Holmes cross-examined over relationship with romantic and business partner|first=Jody|last=Godoy|date=December 1, 2021|work=Reuters|access-date=December 1, 2021|archive-date=December 1, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211201210653/https://www.reuters.com/world/us/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-face-cross-examination-fraud-trial-2021-11-30/|url-status=live}}

Before the March 2018 settlement, Holmes owned half of Theranos's stock. Forbes listed her as one of U.S. Richest Self-Made Women in 2015 with a net worth of $4.5 billion.{{Cite news|title = Elizabeth Holmes|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/elizabeth-holmes/|work = Forbes|access-date = December 9, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021025944/http://www.forbes.com/profile/elizabeth-holmes/|archive-date = October 21, 2014|url-status = live}} In June 2016, Forbes released an updated valuation of $800 million for Theranos, which made Holmes's stake essentially worthless, because other investors owned preferred shares and would have been paid before Holmes, who owned only common stock. Holmes reportedly owed a $25 million debt to Theranos in connection with exercising stock options. She did not receive any company cash from the arrangement, nor did she sell any of her shares, including those associated with the debt.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-owes-about-25-million-to-blood-testing-startup-1491435009|title=Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Owes About $25 Million to Blood-Testing Startup|first=Christopher|last=Weaver|date=April 5, 2017|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=January 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125134826/https://www.wsj.com/articles/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-owes-about-25-million-to-blood-testing-startup-1491435009|archive-date=January 25, 2018|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|last=Shen|first=Lucinda|title=Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Reportedly Owes Her Startup $25 Million|url=http://fortune.com/2017/04/06/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-reportedly-25-million/|access-date=April 10, 2017|work=Fortune|date=April 6, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409142935/http://fortune.com/2017/04/06/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-reportedly-25-million/|archive-date=April 9, 2017|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Balakrishnan|first=Anita|title=Founder Elizabeth Holmes reportedly owes Theranos about $25 million|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/05/founder-elizabeth-holmes-reportedly-owes-theranos-about-25-million.html|access-date=April 10, 2017|work=CNBC|date=April 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170409022349/https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/05/founder-elizabeth-holmes-reportedly-owes-theranos-about-25-million.html|archive-date=April 9, 2017|url-status=live}}

Holmes first met William "Billy" Evans in early 2017. In early 2019, Holmes became engaged to Evans, a 27-year-old heir to Evans Hotels, a family-owned group of hotels in the San Diego area.{{cite news |last=Warren |first=Katie |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-founder-engaged-relationship-2019-3 |title=Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is reportedly engaged to a 27-year-old hotel heir. Here's what we know about their relationship. |work=Business Insider |date=March 29, 2019 |access-date=April 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190401140626/https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-founder-engaged-relationship-2019-3 |archive-date=April 1, 2019 |url-status=live }} In mid-2019, Holmes and Evans reportedly married in a private ceremony.{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-founder-secret-marriage-billy-evans-2019-6|title=Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes reportedly got married in secret to hotel heir Billy Evans|last=Leskin|first=Paige|website=Business Insider|access-date=September 24, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924113117/https://www.businessinsider.com/elizabeth-holmes-theranos-founder-secret-marriage-billy-evans-2019-6|archive-date=September 24, 2019|url-status=live}} Holmes and Evans have not directly confirmed whether the two are legally married, and several sources continue to refer to him as her "partner" rather than her husband.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/28/elizabeth-holmes-mum-on-marriage-as-trial-gets-delayed.html|title=Elizabeth Holmes mum on marriage as trial gets delayed|first=Yasmin|last=Khorram|date=June 28, 2019|website=CNBC|access-date=November 28, 2021|archive-date=November 28, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211128210218/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/28/elizabeth-holmes-mum-on-marriage-as-trial-gets-delayed.html|url-status=live}} Holmes gave birth to a son in July 2021.{{cite news |last1=Dunn |first1=Taylor |last2=Jarvis |first2=Rebecca |last3=Thompson |first3=Victoria |title=Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes welcomes 1st child with partner Billy Evans ahead of criminal trial |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-welcomes-1st-child-partner/story?id=79298331 |date=August 5, 2021 |access-date=August 6, 2021 |work=ABC News |archive-date=August 5, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210805223146/https://abcnews.go.com/Business/theranos-founder-elizabeth-holmes-welcomes-1st-child-partner/story?id=79298331 |url-status=live }} In October 2022, weeks before her sentencing hearing, it was reported she was pregnant with a second child.{{cite web |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/17/star-witness-in-holmes-theranos-trial-she-needs-to-pay-her-debt.html |title=Star witness who visited Elizabeth Holmes after fraud trial says 'she needs to pay her debt to society' |work=CNBC |first=Yasmin |last=Khorram |date=October 17, 2022 |access-date=October 18, 2022}} Holmes was accused of conceiving a second child, according to a court filing from February 2023, as a strategy for delaying the start of her prison term.{{cite news |last=Baron |first=Ethan |date=February 24, 2023 |title=Elizabeth Holmes gives birth to second child while seeking to further delay imprisonment |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/02/24/elizabeth-holmes-gives-birth-to-second-child-while-seeking-to-further-delay-imprisonment/ |newspaper=The Mercury News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230225011910/https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/02/24/elizabeth-holmes-gives-birth-to-second-child-while-seeking-to-further-delay-imprisonment/ |archive-date=February 25, 2023 |url-status=live}} Holmes denied this, saying she wanted to grow her family and the child was conceived before she was indicted, which she did not anticipate.{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/billy-evans-elizabeth-holmes-partner-6fa2d46f |title=Who Is Billy Evans, Elizabeth Holmes's Partner? |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |author=Sara Ashley O'Brien |date=May 30, 2023}} Prior to her incarceration, she lived in the Mortimer Fleishhacker House in Woodside, California with her partner.{{cite web |last=Khorram |first=Yasmin |date=September 7, 2021 |title=Elizabeth Holmes is living on the grounds of a $135 million Silicon Valley estate during her trial |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/07/elizabeth-holmes-staying-at-135-million-silicon-valley-estate-during-theranos-trial.html |website=CNBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230602034816/https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/07/elizabeth-holmes-staying-at-135-million-silicon-valley-estate-during-theranos-trial.html |archive-date=June 2, 2023 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last1=Storey |first1=Kate |last2=Covington |first2=Abigail |date=December 8, 2022 |title=Sunny Bałwani Just Received a Nearly 13-Year-Long Prison Sentence |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a26810723/elizabeth-holmes-now/ |work=Esquire |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609100510/https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a26810723/elizabeth-holmes-now/ |archive-date=June 9, 2023 |url-status=live}}

In January 2022, NPR obtained a copy of a partial police report from the evening of October 5, 2003, in which Holmes called the police and alleged she had been sexually assaulted at a fraternity house at Stanford between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. that morning. The police report supported claims made by Holmes during the trial, in which she said: "I was questioning how I was going to be able to process that [rape] experience and what I wanted to do with my life, and I decided that I was going to build a life by building [a company]." She had started Theranos later that year. The report written by the deputies who responded to the call was withheld from release, and the partial information obtained by NPR does not identify an alleged perpetrator or other details about the incident but identifies the street address of the Sigma Chi fraternity house as the location.{{Cite news|last=Allyn|first=Bobby|date=2022-01-24|title=Police document: 19-year-old Elizabeth Holmes reported sexual assault from Stanford|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2022/01/24/1075364585/elizabeth-holmes-stanford-rape-sexual-assault-report|access-date=2022-01-25|archive-date=January 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125181759/https://www.npr.org/2022/01/24/1075364585/elizabeth-holmes-stanford-rape-sexual-assault-report|url-status=live}}

The case of Holmes is said to have created a stigma for other female entrepreneurs, particularly in the sciences and health care industries, who are often compared to her. Writing in The New York Times, technology journalist Erin Griffith commented that "Holmes continues to loom large across the start-up world because of the audacity of her story, which has permeated popular culture", with female entrepreneurs reporting that "the frequent comparisons [to Holmes] are pernicious".{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/technology/theranos-elizabeth-holmes.html |title=They Still Live in the Shadow of Theranos's Elizabeth Holmes |work=The New York Times |first=Erin |last=Griffith |date=August 24, 2021 |access-date=August 24, 2021 |archive-date=August 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824144507/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/technology/theranos-elizabeth-holmes.html |url-status=live }} Holmes has also been featured in a number of media works:{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/arts/television/theranos-elizabeth-holmes.html |title=Theranos and Elizabeth Holmes: What to Read, Watch and Listen To |work=The New York Times |first=Margaret |last=Lyons |date=March 18, 2019 |access-date=March 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190319222138/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/18/arts/television/theranos-elizabeth-holmes.html |archive-date=March 19, 2019 |url-status=live }}

• In June 2016, Deadline Hollywood first reported that Jennifer Lawrence would play Holmes, in a film directed by Adam McKay,{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/06/jennifer-lawrence-adam-mckay-theranos-medical-drama-project-1201769099/|title=Jennifer Lawrence Boarding Adam McKay Theranos Medical Drama Project|first=Ali|last=Jaafar|date=June 9, 2016|access-date=March 21, 2022|archive-date=March 21, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321090519/https://deadline.com/2016/06/jennifer-lawrence-adam-mckay-theranos-medical-drama-project-1201769099/|url-status=live}} adapted from John Carreyrou's then-unpublished book Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/06/adam-mckay-jennifer-lawrence-theranos-movie-bad-blood-1201775531/|title='Bad Blood' Bids Mobilize for Jennifer Lawrence-Adam McKay Package: 9 Offers|first1=Ali|last1=Jaafar|first2=Mike Jr.|last2=Fleming|date=June 22, 2016|access-date=March 21, 2022|archive-date=December 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207164601/https://deadline.com/2016/06/adam-mckay-jennifer-lawrence-theranos-movie-bad-blood-1201775531/|url-status=live}} In December 2021, The Hollywood Reporter reported that the film would be produced and distributed by Apple Studios, with Legendary Pictures co-producing.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jennifer-lawrences-adam-mckay-bad-blood-apple-1235058243/|title=Adam McKay and Jennifer Lawrence's 'Bad Blood' Movie Lands at Apple Studios|first=Pamela|last=McClintock|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=December 7, 2021|access-date=December 7, 2021|archive-date=December 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211207162601/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jennifer-lawrences-adam-mckay-bad-blood-apple-1235058243/|url-status=live}} In November 2022, Jennifer Lawrence called off the film after seeing Amanda Seyfried's Emmy Award-winning portrayal in The Dropout, saying she did not see the point, "I was like, 'Yeah, we don't need to redo that.' She did it."{{cite web |url=https://sfist.com/2022/11/04/jennifer-lawrence-calls-off-long-anticipated-elizabeth-holmes-movie/ |title=Jennifer Lawrence Calls Off Long-Anticipated Elizabeth Holmes Movie |work=SFist |author=Jay Barmann |date=November 4, 2022 |access-date=November 4, 2022 |archive-date=November 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221104211236/https://sfist.com/2022/11/04/jennifer-lawrence-calls-off-long-anticipated-elizabeth-holmes-movie/ |url-status=dead }}
• In May 2018, author John Carreyrou released the book Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, describing the life of Holmes and the inner workings of Theranos.{{cite news |last=Lowenstein |first=Roger |title='Bad Blood' Review: How One Company Scammed Silicon Valley. And How It Got Caught. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/books/review/bad-blood-john-carreyrou.html |access-date=March 30, 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=May 21, 2018 |archive-date=August 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200823063111/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/books/review/bad-blood-john-carreyrou.html |url-status=live }} The film rights to Carreyrou's book were purchased by Legendary nearly two years before the book was published.{{cite web |last=McNary |first=Dave |title=Legendary Wins Bidding War for Jennifer Lawrence Movie 'Bad Blood' |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/legendary-wins-bidding-jennifer-lawrence-movie-bad-blood-1201802332/ |website=Variety |access-date=23 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625021229/https://variety.com/2016/film/news/legendary-wins-bidding-jennifer-lawrence-movie-bad-blood-1201802332/ |archive-date=2016-06-25 |url-status=live |date=June 23, 2016}}
• In January 2019, ABC News, Nightline, and Rebecca Jarvis released a podcast and documentary about the Holmes story called The Dropout. It included interviews and deposition tapes of key figures, including Holmes, Balwani, Christian Holmes (Elizabeth's brother), Tyler Shultz (Theranos whistleblower and grandson of Board Member George Shultz), Theranos board members Bill Frist, Gary Roughead, Robert Kovacevichz and others. The series also featured an interview with Jeff Coopersmith, the attorney representing Balwani.{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Business/theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-600-times-broadcast-deposition/story?id=60576630|title=Ex-Theranos CEO says 'I don't know' 600+ times in deposition tapes|date=January 24, 2019|website=ABC News|access-date=January 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129182430/https://abcnews.go.com/Business/theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-600-times-broadcast-deposition/story?id=60576630|archive-date=January 29, 2019|url-status=live}}
• On March 18, 2019, HBO premiered the documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, a two-hour documentary film first shown at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2019. It portrays the claims and promises made by Holmes in the last years of Theranos and how ultimately the company was brought down by the weight of many falsehoods. The documentary ends in 2018, with Holmes and Balwani indicted for multiple crimes.{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/18/entertainment/the-inventor-theranos-review/index.html|first=Brian|last=Lowry|title='The Inventor' charts rise and epic fall of Theranos|date=March 18, 2019|website=CNN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191228024014/https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/18/entertainment/the-inventor-theranos-review/index.html|archive-date=December 28, 2019|url-status=live}}
• In June 2021, on season 7 episode 12 of the US comedy-drama Younger, a musical number is featured about famous scammers, in which Elizabeth Stanley portrays Holmes.{{cite web|url=https://www.tvmaze.com/people/29364/elizabeth-stanley|title=Elizabeth Stanley|publisher=TV Maze|access-date=19 March 2022|archive-date=April 17, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220417031222/https://www.tvmaze.com/people/29364/elizabeth-stanley|url-status=live}}
• On August 8, 2021, the Australian newsmagazine 60 Minutes featured the Theranos story and Holmes's upcoming trial.{{cite episode |title=Blood Money |series=60 Minutes Australia |date=8 August 2021 |url=https://www.9now.com.au/60-minutes/2021/episode-25 |network=Nine Network |season=2021 |number=25 |last=Brown |first=Tara |author-link=Tara Brown |access-date=August 31, 2021 |archive-date=August 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814081824/https://www.9now.com.au/60-minutes/2021/episode-25 |url-status=live }}
• In March 2022, Hulu released The Dropout, a miniseries based on the podcast of the same name.{{cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |title=Hulu Orders 'The Dropout' Limited Series Starring Kate McKinnon As Elizabeth Holmes From Fox Searchlight TV |url=https://deadline.com/2019/04/the-dropout-hulu-limited-series-kate-mckinnon-star-elizabeth-holmes-fox-searchlight-television-abc-news-1202593032 |website=Deadline |access-date=April 13, 2019 |date=April 10, 2019 |archive-date=January 26, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126135719/https://deadline.com/2019/04/the-dropout-hulu-limited-series-kate-mckinnon-star-elizabeth-holmes-fox-searchlight-television-abc-news-1202593032/ |url-status=dead }} The series starred Amanda Seyfried as Holmes,{{cite web |last=Otterson |first=Joe |title=Amanda Seyfried to Play Elizabeth Holmes in Hulu Series 'The Dropout,' Taking Over From Kate McKinnon |url=https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/amanda-seyfried-elizabeth-holmes-hulu-the-dropout-kate-mckinnon-1234940063/ |work=Variety |access-date=March 29, 2021 |date=March 29, 2021 |archive-date=March 29, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210329185303/https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/amanda-seyfried-elizabeth-holmes-hulu-the-dropout-kate-mckinnon-1234940063/ |url-status=live }} a role for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.{{cite magazine |last=Rich |first=Katey |title=Amanda Seyfried Triumphs at the Emmys 2022 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/09/amanda-seyfried-the-dropout-emmys-awards-insider |access-date=19 November 2022 |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=13 September 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://people.com/tv/golden-globes-2023-amanda-seyfried-wins-best-limited-series-actress/|title=Amanda Seyfried Wins Best Limited Series Actress at the 2023 Golden Globes for 'The Dropout'|last1=Wynne|first1=Kelly|last2=Vasquez|first2=Ingrid|date=January 10, 2023|website=People|access-date=January 23, 2023}}
• In May 2023, Holmes gave her first interview in seven years to The New York Times. The interview was published while she prepared to go to prison.
• In 2025, Holmes resurfaced with an interview from prison, in which she stated that she still intended to revolutionize the medical testing industry.{{Cite web |title=Elizabeth Holmes Breaks Her Silence in First Interview from Prison: 'It's Been Hell and Torture' (Exclusive) |url=https://people.com/elizabeth-holmes-breaks-her-silence-in-first-interview-from-prison-it-s-been-hell-and-torture-exclusive-8789737 |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=People.com |language=en}}

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite news

|url = https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a27179364/elizabeth-holmes-fiance-billy-evans-theranos/

|title = Everything You Need to Know About Elizabeth Holmes's Maybe-Husband, Billy Evans

|work = Cosmopolitan magazine

|first = Mehera |last= Bonner

|date = June 11, 2019

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200327193445/https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/a27179364/elizabeth-holmes-fiance-billy-evans-theranos/

|archive-date = March 27, 2020

|access-date = March 27, 2020

|url-status = live

}}

{{cite news |last=Carreyrou|first=John|title=Theranos Inc.'s Partners in Blood|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/theranos-inc-s-partners-in-blood-1526662047|access-date=May 19, 2018 |work=The Wall Street Journal|date=May 19, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180619074951/https://www.wsj.com/articles/theranos-inc-s-partners-in-blood-1526662047|archive-date=June 19, 2018}}

}}

• {{cite book |last=Carreyrou|first=John |title=Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup |place=New York|publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |authorlink=John Carreyrou |year=2018a |isbn=978-1-5247-3165-6|oclc=1249975944}}

• {{cite journal|last=Bilton|first=Nick|title='She Never Looks Back': Inside Elizabeth Holmes's Chilling Final Months at Theranos|journal=Vanity Fair|date=February 20, 2019|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2019/02/inside-elizabeth-holmess-final-months-at-theranos|access-date=February 23, 2019|publisher=Condé Nast|ref=none}}

{{Commons category}}

• [https://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=0&f=S&l=50&TERM1=Holmes%3B+Elizabeth+A.+&FIELD1=INNM&co1=AND&TERM2=&FIELD2=&d=PTXT USPTO list of granted U.S. patents listing Holmes as an inventor] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412210045/https://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=0&f=S&l=50&TERM1=Holmes%3B+Elizabeth+A.+&FIELD1=INNM&co1=AND&TERM2=&FIELD2=&d=PTXT |date=April 12, 2022 }} (120 patents as of January 4, 2022)
• {{Cite AV media |title=American Masters: The Women's List|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/womens-list-full-film/5653/|work=PBS|date=September 25, 2015}}
• {{C-SPAN|78951}}
• {{IMDb name|7266010}}
• {{Cite AV media|title=Elizabeth Holmes: Lab testing reinvented|url=http://www.tedmed.com/talks/show?id=309114|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://conifer.rhizome.org/Germinal/wikipedia/20180816012209/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B_oJMQk754|archive-date=August 16, 2018}}{{cbignore}}
• {{Webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20150906094450/http://www.makers.com/elizabeth-holmes |date=September 6, 2015 |title=Makers: Women Who Make America – Elizabeth Holmes}}
• {{Cite AV media | title=The Theranos Deception|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-theranos-elizabeth-holmes-deception/|work=CBS (60 Minutes) |date=May 20, 2018}}

{{Theranos}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holmes, Elizabeth}}

Category:1984 births

Category:21st-century American businesspeople

Category:21st-century American businesswomen

Category:21st-century American criminals

Category:21st-century American inventors

Category:American company founders

Category:American confidence tricksters

Category:American expatriates in Singapore

Category:American female criminals

Category:American health care chief executives

Category:American people convicted of fraud

Category:American people of Danish descent

Category:American people of French-Canadian descent

Category:American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent

Category:American women chief executives

Category:American women company founders

Category:21st-century American women inventors

Category:Businesspeople from Houston

Category:Businesspeople from Washington, D.C.

Category:Former billionaires

Category:Living people

Category:People convicted for health fraud

Category:St. John's School (Texas) alumni

Category:Stanford University alumni

Category:Theranos people