Where Is Elizabeth Holmes Now? The Disgraced Theranos Founder Has Big News
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The convicted fraudster has had some big life developments recently.
To answer the question "Where is Elizabeth Holmes now?" let's start with where she's been.
In 2014, Holmes was a 30-year-old Silicon Valley wunderkind whose health technology company, Theranos, promised to revolutionize the healthcare industry by delivering medical diagnoses without lengthy blood draws. She'd dropped out of Stanford to start her company in 2004, citing her own fear of needles as motivation, and went on to become a mega-heralded innovator on par with Steve Jobs.
Theranos claimed its technology, called Edison machines, could detect diseases like diabetes and other blood disorders using blood drawn from a single finger prick, as opposed to the standard method involving a needle jab and multiple vials of blood requiring days or weeks to determine results. In addition to raising $900 million in capital from investors, Holmes graced the covers of such esteemed publications as Fortune and Forbes; TIME even named her one of its "100 Most Influential People." But aWall Street Journal investigative reporter, John Carreyrou, drew back the curtain in 2015 to reveal that the Edison machines didn’t work, that Theranos relied on older technology for most of its testing, and that Holmes was essentially a fraud. Her company collapsed in 2018 and Holmes was charged with multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit fraud.
Now that Holmes has met her downfall, her story has been the subject of several books and movies, including Hulu’s new limited series The Dropout, starring Amanda Seyfried as Holmes, based on a podcast of the same name hosted by Rebecca Jarvis. But where is Elizabeth Holmes now? Read on to find the latest on her legal woes, her personal life and more.
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Is Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes in jail?
As of Feb. 28, 2023, Holmes is not in jail. She was found guilty of three counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on Jan. 3, 2022. She was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison and is due to surrender herself on April 27, 2023, but her attorneys filed to suspend her sentence until her appeal process is over.
When is Elizabeth Holmes' sentencing?
Eight months between Holmes' conviction (which happened back in January 2022) and her sentencing (which was in September 2022) was an unusually long time, but “this is not a typical case,” says former federal prosecutor Amanda Kramer, who's explained that some facts may have emerged in the trial of Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the former COO and president of Theranos, that could have been relevant in Holmes’ sentencing, hence the delay.
In September, Holmes was sentenced to nearly 12 years behind bars.
What were the charges against Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes?
Both Holmes and Balwani were charged with nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The fraud charges stem from claims made to Theranos investors, doctors, and patients about their new technology that promised quick results from small blood draws. The fraud lies in the claims themselves; however, it’s the money received as a direct result of the claims that constitutes the actual crime.
Holmes’ trial was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later delayed by Holmes’ pregnancy in 2021. Her trial finally started on August 31, 2021, and as it began, Judge Edward Davila ruled to dismiss any fraud charge involving patients and doctors who had not yet paid for tests.
The jury in Holmes’ trial delivered a guilty verdict for one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and three counts of wire fraud relating to investments made by estate attorney Daniel Mosley, who had brought in other investors such as former U.S. Secretary of State and unrepentant war criminal Henry Kissinger, the DeVos family, and hedge fund manager Brian Grossman, who had invested $96 million in Theranos. The jury acquitted Holmes on four other counts and was deadlocked on the last three counts.
Is Elizabeth Holmes rich?
In 2015, Forbes listed Holmes’ net worth at $4.5 billion, putting her at the top of their “Richest Self-Made Women” list. They revised that amount a year later, after an investigation revealed that Theranos was worth about $800 million, and Holmes owned half the company stock and would need to pay investors before reaping her own rewards. After fraud charges were brought against Holmes, Forbes further reduced her net worth to a nice, round $0.
Her conviction carries a fine of $250,000 and she may also need to pay restitution to those she was found guilty of defrauding.
Did Theranos' Elizabeth Holmes date Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani?
Holmes and Balwani were in a romantic relationship that predates their professional one. They met in 2002 when Holmes was in Beijing with Stanford University’s Mandarin program the year before she started college. She was 18; Balwani was 37 and married. They became friends; shortly thereafter, Balwani divorced his wife, Holmes dropped out of Stanford, and the two became a couple, moving in together in 2005. Balwani did not officially join Theranos until 2009 but was advising Holmes from the beginning. Their relationship lasted for about 10 years and was kept secret from investors.
When Holmes took the stand during her trial, she testified that Balwani was abusive and controlling during their relationship, which negatively affected her ability to successfully run Theranos, though she also claimed that his influence over her did not extend to forcing her to lie to investors. Balwani has denied her claims of abuse.
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Is Elizabeth Holmes married?
Holmes has been romantically involved with hotel heir Billy Evans since about 2018, when they were seen together at Burning Man. They became engaged in 2019 and while there are reports that they are now married, neither Holmes nor Evans have publicly confirmed this. They live together in Evans’ $135 million estate in Palo Alto, California, and have a son together, born in July 2021. In a February 2023 court filing, it was reported that she gave birth to their second child.
How can I watch The Dropout?
All episodes of The Dropout are available to stream on Hulu.
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