Elizabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, was once a billionaire but faced fraud charges for misleading investors and the government. She was convicted in 2022 and sentenced to prison.
At the age of 19, Elizabeth Holmes left Stanford University to establish the blood-testing startup Theranos. The company's technology was initially lauded as groundbreaking, and Holmes was compared to the likes of Steve Jobs.
Elizabeth Holmes, born in February 1984, is an American entrepreneur who founded Theranos, a now-defunct health technology company. She gained notoriety for her fraudulent practices in the medical industry.
Elizabeth Holmes was born on February 3, 1984 in Washington, D.C. She later became a prominent American entrepreneur known for the Theranos scandal.
At the age of 7, Elizabeth Holmes attempted to invent her own time machine by creating detailed engineering drawings in a notebook.
By the age of 9, Elizabeth Holmes expressed her ambition to become a billionaire to her relatives with utmost seriousness and determination.
From a young age, Elizabeth Holmes showed an intense competitive streak, especially during games like Monopoly where she would play until she won, displaying determination and a strong will to succeed.
Elizabeth Holmes reached the milestone of being the youngest self-made female billionaire with a net worth of approximately $4.5 billion.
Elizabeth Holmes received the honor of being a 'president's scholar' at Stanford during her freshman year, which included a $3,000 stipend for a research project.
In 2003, Elizabeth Holmes dropped out of Stanford University and founded the blood testing startup Theranos with the goal of revolutionizing blood testing using just a few drops of blood.
In March 2004, Elizabeth Holmes, a sophomore studying chemical engineering at Stanford University, decides to drop out of school in order to focus on her startup Theranos, which she founded at the age of 19 in 2003. The company's name is a blend of 'therapy' and 'diagnosis'.
In 2005, Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh Balwani started living together, which was kept secret from employees, investors, and business partners.
In 2008, despite the board's initial decision to remove Elizabeth Holmes as CEO of Theranos in favor of someone more experienced, she managed to persuade them to allow her to remain in charge of the company during a two-hour meeting.
In September 2009, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani becomes the chief operating officer and president of Theranos, working closely with Elizabeth Holmes. Balwani, who is significantly older than Holmes, had met her in 2002 during a trip to Beijing.
In 2011, Elizabeth Holmes hired her younger brother, Christian, to work at Theranos despite his lack of medical or science background. Christian spent his early days at Theranos recruiting his Duke University fraternity brothers to join the company.
In September 2013, after a decade of secrecy, Elizabeth Holmes reveals details about Theranos to the public and announces a partnership with Walgreens. This marks the beginning of media attention towards Theranos, with the first Wellness Center opening in a Walgreens store in Palo Alto.
Elizabeth Holmes, the Chairman, CEO, and Founder of Theranos, spoke onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco. She discussed the company's innovative blood testing technology that required only a finger prick and a small amount of blood.
In September 29, 2015, Elizabeth Holmes, the CEO of Theranos, participated in a panel discussion at the Clinton Global Initiative's annual meeting in New York. This event showcased her involvement in high-profile gatherings and her role in the healthcare industry.
Elizabeth Holmes spoke at a technology conference in Laguna Beach, California, hosted by the Wall Street Journal on October 21, 2015.
In March 2016, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) threatens to ban Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh Balwani from the laboratory business for two years due to issues at Theranos' California lab.
In spring 2016, Elizabeth Holmes ended her relationship with Sunny Balwani and removed him from the company they co-founded, Theranos.
In June 2016, Forbes revised Elizabeth Holmes' net worth to $0 as Theranos' technology faced scrutiny and investigations from federal agencies, leading to a downfall in her wealth.
In July 2016, Elizabeth Holmes was banned from the lab-testing industry for a period of two years.
Elizabeth Holmes first met William 'Billy' Evans in early 2017.
Elizabeth Holmes and former Theranos COO Ramesh Balwani were indicted by a federal grand jury on nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after a two-year investigation. They were accused of defrauding investors, doctors, and patients.
In February 2019, reports surfaced about Elizabeth Holmes wearing Evans' MIT 'signet ring' and the couple sharing photos on a private Instagram account, with Evans' parents expressing surprise at their son's decision to marry Holmes.
On March 18, 2019, HBO premiered the documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, which showcased the claims and downfall of Theranos due to falsehoods propagated by Elizabeth Holmes.
Elizabeth Holmes appeared for a motion hearing at the U.S. District Court House in San Jose, California. She is facing federal fraud charges related to her biotech startup Theranos.
In February 2020, Elizabeth Holmes received a favorable ruling in her federal case as some of the charges against her were dropped by a judge who ruled that some patients did not suffer financial loss.
In April 2020, amid the coronavirus outbreak, Elizabeth Holmes' lawyers asked the judge to consider the case 'essential' to defy lockdown orders and continue face-to-face meetings. The judge expressed surprise at the defense team's request to violate lockdown measures.
Elizabeth Holmes faces an additional criminal charge of wire fraud, bringing the total counts against her to twelve.
The trial date for Elizabeth Holmes was initially set for July 2020, but due to the health risks associated with assembling a trial during the pandemic, it was deemed unrealistic. The presiding judge rescheduled the trial to October 2020 and later further postponed it to March 2021.
Court documents suggest that Elizabeth Holmes might use a 'mental disease' defense in her fraud trial. Later, allegations of an abusive relationship with Balwani surface.
In December 2020, Elizabeth Holmes' criminal trial, initially set to begin in July 2020, is further delayed until July 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On May 4, 2021, Elizabeth Holmes was spotted leaving the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building in San Jose, California with her defense team.
Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and former CEO of Theranos Inc., appeared in a U.S. federal court in San Jose, California. She was scheduled to go to trial in August on charges related to the alleged fraud of her blood-test startup.
On August 8, 2021, the Australian newsmagazine 60 Minutes highlighted the Theranos story and Elizabeth Holmes's upcoming trial.
Elizabeth Holmes collects her belongings after going through security at the Robert F. Peckham Federal Building with her defense team.
Elizabeth Holmes, founder and former CEO of Theranos, started her fraud trial in San Jose, California on September 8, 2021, leaving the courthouse with her husband Billy Evans after the first day.
The article 'The Rise and Fall of Elizabeth Holmes' was archived on October 23, 2021, providing insights into the controversial journey of Elizabeth Holmes.
On November 29, 2021, Elizabeth Holmes testified about her relationship with Sunny Balwani, stating that he was controlling and abusive. She also mentioned seeking solace from him after a traumatic incident.
A sneak peek at Amanda Seyfried portraying Elizabeth Holmes in the TV series 'The Dropout' was released by Hulu.
After 15 weeks of trial, Elizabeth Holmes' case went to a jury of eight men and four women on December 17, 2021.
On January 3, 2022, Elizabeth Holmes was found guilty of four out of 11 charges of fraud, while being acquitted on four charges and facing a hung jury on 3 counts.
The dramatized series featuring Amanda Seyfried as Elizabeth Holmes premiered on Hulu on March 3, 2022. The show explores the story of how the world's youngest self-made female billionaire lost everything suddenly.
Despite a request to stay out of prison during appeal being denied in April 2022, Elizabeth Holmes was still required to report to prison on April 27 as originally planned.
A jury has returned verdicts in the trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.
On November 8, the presiding judge rejected all three of Elizabeth Holmes' requests for a new trial, clearing the path for her sentencing.
A jury has returned verdicts in the trial of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.
Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11+1⁄4 years in prison and ordered to surrender by April 27, 2023. She was also fined and faced supervised release after serving her prison term.
Elizabeth Holmes was ordered to surrender to custody on May 30, 2023, after unsuccessful appeals. She was also directed to pay $452 million to the fraud victims.
Elizabeth Holmes arrived at the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas on May 30, 2023, to serve her sentence. Her prison term has been shortened recently, and she is scheduled to be released on December 29, 2032.
Elizabeth Holmes, the former CEO of Theranos, has had her prison sentence reduced by 2 years.
On May 7, 2024, Elizabeth Holmes had additional months cut from her prison release date.
On May 8, 2024, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' prison sentence was reduced once again.
Bureau of Prisons records show that Elizabeth Holmes is scheduled to be released on December 29, 2032, reflecting a shortened prison term compared to her original sentence.