I wanted to be open-minded and sympathetic toward Elizabeth when I read "Bad Blood." In the end, I came away thinking, How did she get away with so much cheating and lying?. I worked for about 10 years in the biotech gulch and Silicon Valley for established pharma and biotech start-ups. The start-ups were *never* glamorous, followed the rules, measured their expenses, had very few permanent employees since permanent employees want benefits, etc. But, not just that. Elizabeth's temperament, acting out, and disrespect for almost everyone turned me off. The way she inspired fear in people disgusted me. It was obvious that her financial and investment coups were a result of faking the technology and not having had any person or agency vet the product. I worked at Genentech. The FDA inspected the corners of their toilets when they did site visits to evaluate their drugs for approval. I'm certain device manufacturers need FDA approval. How could her company get located on expensive Palo Alto real estate with 500 employees? I wouldn't doubt other players in the background are just as guilty, but not in prison. In my heart of hearts, I believe she deliberately got pregnant to generate sympathy and to get the judge to consider her children's maternal needs. I think she's a sociopath who would manufacture new realities on demand to suit her schemes.
I'm very interested to see what your "research" yields. She is a convicted criminal because she lied to investors to get their money. If she'd been truthful about the state of her company when raising money, they wouldn't have invested. There are many documented material lies. She represented the technology as fully developed, that Theranos tech performed every test in the clinical labs (a whopping lie), vastly overstated the financial condition of the company. Doesn't matter how rich they were, that's the law.
Interesting article. A couple points. Any woman who gets pregnant and has a baby knowing she is on her way to prison in my book is not a good mother. She did it twice. She may have been way ahead of her time, so was Startrek, which was a fantasy for entertainment. She defrauded people out of millions of dollars. Those millions may have gone to investments which did real good and saved real lives. Yeah, boo on the investors who bought into her unproven methods which were exagerated beyond reality. I'm not upset that they lost money. The article skips over the fact that she actually used her competitors equipment to do blood tests because she knew hers didn't work. She is clearly a very intelligent, manipulative, sociopath. Being the husband of a two time cancer survivor, during her treatment we pinned our hopes on the fact that the equipment and technology being used worked. Sometimes we only had hope and trust. She obliterated that trust for many people. I'm alittle touchy about someone who willingly put people treatment in jeopardy. I'm sorry I can't get over whelmed by her devotion to her babies. As was her style she seems concerned about getting the word out about what a good mother she is. Hopefully she has seen the light, I doubt it.
After finishing "Bad Blood," I thought solitary confinement might be a good place. This thing of women being the victims of the Old Boys Club is so bogus. The other side is that women are equally as culpable of being vicious, manipulative, power hungry, and liars. No, she wasn't "set up." People were tired of being fired for nothing and verbally abused. I have zero respect for her, and her children will do fine, thank you, in their affluent Menlo Park homes. Oh, yeah, she's "rooming" with Gislaine Maxwell, who was, of course, raised as a nun.
It sounds personal. Mentioning location of where her children live? And don't get me started on Ghislaine. It sounds like you are lacking a lot of critical insight to both cases.
I have no idea whether they live in Hawaii or Palo Alto. They have an extended family and grandparents, and are financially well taken care of. You perceive Elizabeth as a damsel tied to railroad tracks, which she isn't. It's pretty ironic to me that she regrets not having that maternal bond when most of her human interactions seemed calculated, and she really didn't empathize with anyone. BTW, I always give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I do not believe the author of the book had bad intentions. I just don't.
If you are looking at a snapshot of Holmes now, she does present as a sympathetic figure. But If you look into her background, there are some warning signs. Her father was vice-president of Enron and later worked at various government agencies. Her mother also worked for the government. In high school, she was interested in computer programming and says she started her first business selling C++ compilers to Chinese universities. Then you have the weird chapter in her life where she worked in a laboratory at the Genome Institute of Singapore, testing for SARS-CoV-1, back in 2002 (18 years before anyone had heard of Covid). After starting Theranos, she somehow manages to get as her board members: George Schultz (former Secretary of State) Henry Kissinger (former secretary of state) William Perry (former secretary of defense) James Mattis (a future secretary of defense), a retired US admiral and two retired US senators, one was Sam Nunn, who was "top choice" to be Secretary of Defense or State in 1992 and 1996. Huh? Not your normal board members for blood testing company...
Everything about Holmes’ background, connections and rise to prominence does not track right. But neither does her downfall. Holmes was set up and the question is why.
And a controlled burn. Like Weinstein’s repellent casting couch behavior to distract from the real rot in Hollywood - the abuse of children (i.e., Bryan Singer)
Elizabeth is a woman who understands how power and manipulation works. She had her father as an example.
Her first board member was her college professor from Stanford. After that every appointee was older, male, not scientifically based, they were political/military (she took a big hit for this when the company failed). Also, not 1 woman, deliberate move? I think
Tyler Schultz worked for the company early on, before he became a whistleblower. he was George Schultz’s grandson. George - introduced her to all the other board members. She wanted a board of influential and highly respected executives that would impress future investors. She got exactly what she wanted.
Tyler tried to warn his Grandfather, he didn’t believe him, it caused direct conflict for them. They later resolved things.
So, you’re saying she didn’t take a competitor’s analysis machine and slap a Theranos panel on it? She also didn’t fake her own company’s test results by using other commercially available instruments?
You're in the wrong space then. Respectfully. With this mind frame. I always appreciate open minded readers, asking questions not answering and absolutes-unwilling to entertain even another angle when presented.
It's one article. I have plenty more. Not sure any of it will suit you. You sound absolute - solidity attached to rigid perspective. I'm writing for those willing to consider another angle in these cases. Maxwell included.
Just another “American villain.” Created by the corrupt corporate interests that run the country. My bigger question is when do we just stop playing along in the American justice system of injustice? Tell me a single benefit that the people who play by the rules get? If you’re on the wrong side of the money, jail is the lucky end.
She should be free…particularly as judged by the criminality that’s acceptable by politicians and protected classes of people. These stories make me so frustrated. Equal justice under the law is an illusionary trade that only the behaving people make.
I have believed Elizabeth Holmes every step f the way.
I’ve witnessed, first hand, how the science community works. It’s like a good old boys club without the all of y’alls. If you play by their rules, you get the financing you seek. Once you eclipse a foundational member, all bets are off and so are the gloves.
Elizabeth’s biggest crime is naïveté. Plus demurring to the powers that cost her the life she was building. She trusted the mountain of wealth and got the short shrift when she was deemed to be breaking down walls and false foundations. Science is a sacred cow and real money exists in that vacuum. Play by their rules or you’re banished.
Elizabeth is not a grifter. She trusted people of influence and it lead to her demise. It’s that complex and yet that simple.
Here is the thing to know about Elizabeth, she is a convicted criminal, a felon…why don’t you address about her harassment of Tyler Schultz and Erika Cheung, what about her “friend” that end his life and Elizabeth didn’t even bother send any level of sympathy to his family? What about the BS story she tells about her uncle , even her own family was disgusted by that
I don't know much about her. I loved the Hulu show that starred Amanda Seyfreid. There's a new one coming out with Jennifer Lawrence I think. Adam McCay directing who I love. It will be interesting to see. She seems like a nuanced person who is on the spectrum like most of those who are successful in Silicon Valley. I have to say I'm impressed how she was able to get so many influential, powerful, wealthy ppl to invest in Theranos. Perhaps a sociopath but who knows. 🤷♀️Good person to explore Jessica!
Doing my very best to keep an open mind about this one. I’m anxious to see what your research into her has discovered that paints a different enough picture from Bad Blood to change my mind about her. Books like that aren’t published without extensive legal review for win ability of potential lawsuits, etc. It was not a sympathetic or flattering picture of her to say the least. This “pay attention to your macros while in prison!!” routine feels like just that. An act by a psychopath trying to reinvent a new persona to gain sympathy.
I have no issue with trying to disrupt the healthcare industry and the way it benefits richly from keeping us sick. I have a major issue with how she went about trying to do that.
I can’t imagine being away from my child that way. I feel bad and sad that my son lives at his school for children on the spectrum and I have him every other weekend. Thank you for this for more than just that reason. What a wake up call
Great article! When I watched the show about her company, I was in the middle of a battle with a business partner who was stealing our business away from us. He turned out to be a narcissistic sociopath who took our money, set up a great business and turned around to give us nothing in return. It was very triggering, and I saw her playing the same part.
The way the movie was portrayed, she appeared to be a narcissistic sociopath, and as other people have commented, it seemed curious that she became pregnant as the time came for her to carry out her sentence. I obviously can’t speak to who she is because I don’t know her, but based on everything I’ve seen so far, it’s time for her to be released. You can dissect what she did, who she is and what she might do when she gets out, but enough is enough. She’s certainly not dangerous. She has served enough time.
It feels as though another woman falls or is the scapegoat for many men who were certainly part of whatever scheme or illegal doings that took place. That has to stop. Take them all down and do not give them more years of sentencing than many murderers get.
I wanted to be open-minded and sympathetic toward Elizabeth when I read "Bad Blood." In the end, I came away thinking, How did she get away with so much cheating and lying?. I worked for about 10 years in the biotech gulch and Silicon Valley for established pharma and biotech start-ups. The start-ups were *never* glamorous, followed the rules, measured their expenses, had very few permanent employees since permanent employees want benefits, etc. But, not just that. Elizabeth's temperament, acting out, and disrespect for almost everyone turned me off. The way she inspired fear in people disgusted me. It was obvious that her financial and investment coups were a result of faking the technology and not having had any person or agency vet the product. I worked at Genentech. The FDA inspected the corners of their toilets when they did site visits to evaluate their drugs for approval. I'm certain device manufacturers need FDA approval. How could her company get located on expensive Palo Alto real estate with 500 employees? I wouldn't doubt other players in the background are just as guilty, but not in prison. In my heart of hearts, I believe she deliberately got pregnant to generate sympathy and to get the judge to consider her children's maternal needs. I think she's a sociopath who would manufacture new realities on demand to suit her schemes.
Based on my personal research, I disagree
I'm very interested to see what your "research" yields. She is a convicted criminal because she lied to investors to get their money. If she'd been truthful about the state of her company when raising money, they wouldn't have invested. There are many documented material lies. She represented the technology as fully developed, that Theranos tech performed every test in the clinical labs (a whopping lie), vastly overstated the financial condition of the company. Doesn't matter how rich they were, that's the law.
Lol. The absolute gall to respond so flippantly. Show us your "personal research"
Are you sick or a horrible person just Elizabeth Holmes is?? She is scammer that went out to hurt people
Interesting article. A couple points. Any woman who gets pregnant and has a baby knowing she is on her way to prison in my book is not a good mother. She did it twice. She may have been way ahead of her time, so was Startrek, which was a fantasy for entertainment. She defrauded people out of millions of dollars. Those millions may have gone to investments which did real good and saved real lives. Yeah, boo on the investors who bought into her unproven methods which were exagerated beyond reality. I'm not upset that they lost money. The article skips over the fact that she actually used her competitors equipment to do blood tests because she knew hers didn't work. She is clearly a very intelligent, manipulative, sociopath. Being the husband of a two time cancer survivor, during her treatment we pinned our hopes on the fact that the equipment and technology being used worked. Sometimes we only had hope and trust. She obliterated that trust for many people. I'm alittle touchy about someone who willingly put people treatment in jeopardy. I'm sorry I can't get over whelmed by her devotion to her babies. As was her style she seems concerned about getting the word out about what a good mother she is. Hopefully she has seen the light, I doubt it.
She's a fraud and very manipulative. In my opinion, she's exactly where she should be.
After finishing "Bad Blood," I thought solitary confinement might be a good place. This thing of women being the victims of the Old Boys Club is so bogus. The other side is that women are equally as culpable of being vicious, manipulative, power hungry, and liars. No, she wasn't "set up." People were tired of being fired for nothing and verbally abused. I have zero respect for her, and her children will do fine, thank you, in their affluent Menlo Park homes. Oh, yeah, she's "rooming" with Gislaine Maxwell, who was, of course, raised as a nun.
It sounds personal. Mentioning location of where her children live? And don't get me started on Ghislaine. It sounds like you are lacking a lot of critical insight to both cases.
I have no idea whether they live in Hawaii or Palo Alto. They have an extended family and grandparents, and are financially well taken care of. You perceive Elizabeth as a damsel tied to railroad tracks, which she isn't. It's pretty ironic to me that she regrets not having that maternal bond when most of her human interactions seemed calculated, and she really didn't empathize with anyone. BTW, I always give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I do not believe the author of the book had bad intentions. I just don't.
She was convicted by a jury of her peers, her appeals denied , Elizabeth Holmes is a convicted felon, a fraud and a criminal..plain and simple
If you are looking at a snapshot of Holmes now, she does present as a sympathetic figure. But If you look into her background, there are some warning signs. Her father was vice-president of Enron and later worked at various government agencies. Her mother also worked for the government. In high school, she was interested in computer programming and says she started her first business selling C++ compilers to Chinese universities. Then you have the weird chapter in her life where she worked in a laboratory at the Genome Institute of Singapore, testing for SARS-CoV-1, back in 2002 (18 years before anyone had heard of Covid). After starting Theranos, she somehow manages to get as her board members: George Schultz (former Secretary of State) Henry Kissinger (former secretary of state) William Perry (former secretary of defense) James Mattis (a future secretary of defense), a retired US admiral and two retired US senators, one was Sam Nunn, who was "top choice" to be Secretary of Defense or State in 1992 and 1996. Huh? Not your normal board members for blood testing company...
Everything about Holmes’ background, connections and rise to prominence does not track right. But neither does her downfall. Holmes was set up and the question is why.
I agree there are a lot of interesting loop poles to dig into and your conclusion seems to match my theory so far
Public takedowns like hers
always seem to involve government and military connected backgrounds, like a sacrifice.
And a controlled burn. Like Weinstein’s repellent casting couch behavior to distract from the real rot in Hollywood - the abuse of children (i.e., Bryan Singer)
Controlled burn, that’s perfect. They give up one like Diddy while others like Clive Davis remain unscathed.
Who is "they"? Is everyone on here a whacky conspiracy theorist without a scintilla of evidence?
I think they must think Hollywood pervs are in a cabal and 'give up' one person to protect the others from justice criminals or gangsters.
Elizabeth is a woman who understands how power and manipulation works. She had her father as an example.
Her first board member was her college professor from Stanford. After that every appointee was older, male, not scientifically based, they were political/military (she took a big hit for this when the company failed). Also, not 1 woman, deliberate move? I think
Tyler Schultz worked for the company early on, before he became a whistleblower. he was George Schultz’s grandson. George - introduced her to all the other board members. She wanted a board of influential and highly respected executives that would impress future investors. She got exactly what she wanted.
Tyler tried to warn his Grandfather, he didn’t believe him, it caused direct conflict for them. They later resolved things.
So, you’re saying she didn’t take a competitor’s analysis machine and slap a Theranos panel on it? She also didn’t fake her own company’s test results by using other commercially available instruments?
I can’t read anything about her and believe it. Once a con artist always a con artist. I hope investors are never duped by her again.
You're in the wrong space then. Respectfully. With this mind frame. I always appreciate open minded readers, asking questions not answering and absolutes-unwilling to entertain even another angle when presented.
Your a little touchy. I don't think she talking about your writing as much as Elizabeth's zest for manipulation and lying.
No, I mean what I wrote.
I don't think you made your case very well.
It's one article. I have plenty more. Not sure any of it will suit you. You sound absolute - solidity attached to rigid perspective. I'm writing for those willing to consider another angle in these cases. Maxwell included.
You always do, and why your pov is so refreshing.
Just another “American villain.” Created by the corrupt corporate interests that run the country. My bigger question is when do we just stop playing along in the American justice system of injustice? Tell me a single benefit that the people who play by the rules get? If you’re on the wrong side of the money, jail is the lucky end.
She should be free…particularly as judged by the criminality that’s acceptable by politicians and protected classes of people. These stories make me so frustrated. Equal justice under the law is an illusionary trade that only the behaving people make.
100% Aaron! Love your response.
Fabulous article. I would love more of her side of the story- the sentencing seems such overkill.
Oh, I have much more to come ❤️
I have believed Elizabeth Holmes every step f the way.
I’ve witnessed, first hand, how the science community works. It’s like a good old boys club without the all of y’alls. If you play by their rules, you get the financing you seek. Once you eclipse a foundational member, all bets are off and so are the gloves.
Elizabeth’s biggest crime is naïveté. Plus demurring to the powers that cost her the life she was building. She trusted the mountain of wealth and got the short shrift when she was deemed to be breaking down walls and false foundations. Science is a sacred cow and real money exists in that vacuum. Play by their rules or you’re banished.
Elizabeth is not a grifter. She trusted people of influence and it lead to her demise. It’s that complex and yet that simple.
so you know a lot about her case it sounds? I'm interested in what you know.
Here is the thing to know about Elizabeth, she is a convicted criminal, a felon…why don’t you address about her harassment of Tyler Schultz and Erika Cheung, what about her “friend” that end his life and Elizabeth didn’t even bother send any level of sympathy to his family? What about the BS story she tells about her uncle , even her own family was disgusted by that
Not saying I know a lot. But I do know some. Feel free to email me.
I don't know much about her. I loved the Hulu show that starred Amanda Seyfreid. There's a new one coming out with Jennifer Lawrence I think. Adam McCay directing who I love. It will be interesting to see. She seems like a nuanced person who is on the spectrum like most of those who are successful in Silicon Valley. I have to say I'm impressed how she was able to get so many influential, powerful, wealthy ppl to invest in Theranos. Perhaps a sociopath but who knows. 🤷♀️Good person to explore Jessica!
Thanks for always being open minded Sabrina!
The Apple TV project 'Bad Blood' has stalled due to Jennifer Lawrence leaving the project.
Doing my very best to keep an open mind about this one. I’m anxious to see what your research into her has discovered that paints a different enough picture from Bad Blood to change my mind about her. Books like that aren’t published without extensive legal review for win ability of potential lawsuits, etc. It was not a sympathetic or flattering picture of her to say the least. This “pay attention to your macros while in prison!!” routine feels like just that. An act by a psychopath trying to reinvent a new persona to gain sympathy.
I have no issue with trying to disrupt the healthcare industry and the way it benefits richly from keeping us sick. I have a major issue with how she went about trying to do that.
My only sympathy right now is for her kids.
Well it sounds like you know enough to be interested in what I have to present
Very interested!
Henry Kissinger and George Schultz need to enter the conversation. All connected and corrupt
YES!
I can’t imagine being away from my child that way. I feel bad and sad that my son lives at his school for children on the spectrum and I have him every other weekend. Thank you for this for more than just that reason. What a wake up call
X
Great article! When I watched the show about her company, I was in the middle of a battle with a business partner who was stealing our business away from us. He turned out to be a narcissistic sociopath who took our money, set up a great business and turned around to give us nothing in return. It was very triggering, and I saw her playing the same part.
The way the movie was portrayed, she appeared to be a narcissistic sociopath, and as other people have commented, it seemed curious that she became pregnant as the time came for her to carry out her sentence. I obviously can’t speak to who she is because I don’t know her, but based on everything I’ve seen so far, it’s time for her to be released. You can dissect what she did, who she is and what she might do when she gets out, but enough is enough. She’s certainly not dangerous. She has served enough time.
Her fake deep voice just throws me for a loop - she’s so odd…
I would also argue that Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton's baby voice is odd and unnerving.
It feels as though another woman falls or is the scapegoat for many men who were certainly part of whatever scheme or illegal doings that took place. That has to stop. Take them all down and do not give them more years of sentencing than many murderers get.