Skip to content

GREENGROUND

Daily Insights for a Smarter Tomorrow

Menu
  • Home
  • Medium
  • About Us
    • Mission
    • Contact Us
Menu

Elizabeth Holmes Speaks for Herself

Posted on November 24, 2021 by Livio Andrea Acerbo

Who is actually to blame for the spectacular downfall of the blood-testing startup Theranos? Is it Elizabeth Holmes, the girl boss founder who faces 11 counts of wire fraud for allegedly misleading investors? Or is it the company’s employees who signed off on various reports suggesting the technology performed well? What about Theranos’ board members—like George Shultz, James Mattis, and Henry Kissinger—who got paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to advise the company? Or is it Ramesh Balwani, Holmes’ business partner and ex-boyfriend, who separately faces 11 counts of fraud?

Each of these theories has been explored in the past several days as Holmes took the stand, 11 weeks into a trial that has captivated Silicon Valley and beyond. It marks the first time she has told her story for herself since Theranos formally shut down in 2018, the same year she was charged with fraud.

Holmes began her testimony on Friday afternoon, which drove record numbers of people to appear outside of court on Monday and Tuesday morning. Spectators began lining up as early as 2 am this week, shivering as they waited for one of the limited seats in the San Jose Courthouse. The crowd was filled with reporters, concerned citizens, and one man who shouted “God bless you, girl boss!” as Holmes arrived on Tuesday. “The Valley hasn’t seen such a high-profile case of business fraud like this before,” says historian Margaret O’Mara, who compared the spectacle to early iPhone releases. Holmes benefitted from hype when her company was getting off the ground in the early 2000s. Now she’s found herself in a different kind of hype cycle.

As a young CEO, Holmes often portrayed herself as a wunderkind. She appeared on the covers of magazines and welcomed comparisons to Steve Jobs. But in court, Holmes—who is now 37, and no longer wears her once-trademark black turtlenecks—emphasized the parts of her job that she delegated to others.

When asked who was responsible for validating that the blood tests worked as promised, Holmes pointed to Adam Rosendorff, Theranos’ lab director. A botched partnership with Walgreens came down to Daniel Young, the “incredibly smart” employee who Holmes had put in charge. The decision not to disclose that Theranos sometimes used third-party devices was attributed to the company’s legal counsel, which Holmes said told her the information constituted a “trade secret.” Balwani, not Holmes, was in charge of the company’s financial projections. And the famous marketing suggesting Theranos used only “a single drop of blood”? Holmes testified that she did not personally sign off on every piece of marketing material that was created by Chiat Day, the expensive advertising firm she hired.

This type of diffusion of blame is extremely common in fraud cases, says David Sklansky, who teaches and writes about criminal law at Stanford. “It’s probably the most common kind of defense mounted in cases involving allegations of large-scale financial fraud,” he says. “Whether it works depends on how credible it seems to the jury.”

social experiment by Livio Acerbo #greengroundit #wired https://www.wired.com/story/theranos-trial-elizabeth-holmes-speaks

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • More
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp

Like this:

Like Loading...
Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Telegram
©2025 GREENGROUND | WordPress Theme by Superbthemes.com
This website uses cookies
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT
%d