Once hailed as the youngest self-made female billionaire, Elizabeth Holmes is best known for founding the failed blood-testing startup Theranos in 2003 when she was 19. After Theranos' technology was found to be faulty, Holmes was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison in 2022 for defrauding investors.
> Watch the trailer for Nathan Fielder's critically acclaimed documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, "You Can See Everything." (More, w/video)
> Holmes imitated Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, even going so far as to dress like him, making his signature black turtleneck her uniform. (More)
Holmes attended Stanford University from 2002 to 2004, when she dropped out to work on Theranos. The company raised hundreds of millions of dollars, reaching a $9B valuation at its peak. Investors included Walmart's Walton family, and board members ranged from Henry Kissinger to George Shultz.
> Theranos investors, including Rupert Murdoch and the DeVos family, lost hundreds of millions of dollars when the company failed. (More, w/video)
> Former employees claim the startup had cultlike qualities, including suppression of dissent, sleep deprivation, and surveillance. (More)
> Explore the Failure Museum, a curated collection of over 1,000 items representing failed products and companies, including a Theranos mug. (More, w/video)
Theranos' core claim—that its blood-testing device could detect many diseases with just a pinprick of blood—was ultimately a lie, despite partnerships with major pharmacies like Walgreens that added to Theranos' credibility. Theranos dissolved in 2018 after a 2015 Wall Street Journal investigation led by reporter John Carreyrou exposed that Theranos' Edison blood-testing machines did not work as the company claimed.
> Read the 2015 investigative piece that first surfaced failures in Theranos' technology. (More)
> Elizabeth Holmes' partner, Billy Evans, has raised millions of dollars for a new biotech startup during Holmes' time in prison. (More)
Discover more:
> Listen to a comparison between Holmes' real voice and her fake, deeper one. (More, w/video)
> When female founders fail publicly, some sociologists say they are evaluated more harshly than men. (More)
> Watch Nathan Fielder open “Dumb Starbucks” in 2014, a fake coffee shop he called a parody so he could claim fair use against trademark infringement. (More, w/video)
