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Elizabeth Holmes was celebrated in 2015 as the richest and richest self-proclaimed women's billionaire in North America.
Theranos, its revolutionary blood-testing company, was worth nearly $ 10 billion ($ 14 billion) and the young entrepreneur had a personal net worth of $ 4.5 billion ($ 6.3 billion). Australian dollars).
But just a year later, everything started to collapse.
This estimated multi-billion dollar fortune has been reduced to $ 0 per Forbes Ms. Holmes has faced numerous allegations of potential fraud.
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And in September 2018, Theranos was definitely shut down – a dramatic fall for a woman and a company that had already benefited from the support of renowned investors, including Rupert Murdoch, News Corp's chief executive, and the secretary to the company. US Education, Betsy DeVos. .
But it seems that Mrs. Holmes did not give up without fighting.
In a new article published in Vanity Fairjournalist Nick Bilton, who has watched the fall of Theranos over the years, revealed new details about Holmes' increasingly bizarre behavior as her company headed for collapse, as well as her desperate attempts to keep it afloat.
WASHED EXPENSES
Ms. Holmes had long been known for her love of luxury, opting for a private plane and hiring "her own personal security services, drivers, personal badistants, and a $ 25,000 paid personal advertising agent" ($ 35,000). ) per month, "a former Theranos executive told Bilton.
The company had also entered into an indemnity agreement with Ms. Holmes and her former partner, Sunny Balwani, director of Theranos' operation. Invoices of several million dollars would be billed to him each month.
Mrs. Holmes bought luxury accessories such as Birkin handbags and was renowned for charging personal expenses, such as the mileage of a car, to her company.
DESPERATE MOVE
In spite of all these remarkable expenses, Mrs. Holmes tried to reduce her expenses as Theranos' woes worsened.
According to Mr. Bilton, the company operated from a sumptuous address whose rent would cost $ 1 million ($ 2.4 million) a month, a conference table alone costing $ 100,000 ($ 140,000).
But in late 2017, the decision was made to downgrade a "shabby" lab in Newark, California, for a fraction of the price.
BALTO
As Theranos cleared up, Ms. Holmes' erratic behavior seemed to intensify, especially with her newly adopted puppy named Balto.
according to Vanity FairBalto "was not trained in cleanliness" and "frequently urinated and defecated" at the office, with an badistant forced to clean up after him.
The husky dog had traces of wolf DNA – and after discovering this fact, Mrs. Holmes insisted to all the people she met that he was not a dog, but a wolf.
It was named in honor of a famous husky who had led an expedition carrying drugs to fight a diphtheria epidemic in 1925. As Bilton reports, "The metaphorical connection was obvious. According to Holmes, Balto's perseverance reflected his own. His journey with life-changing drugs was not so different from his ambition. "
MORAL BAS
Unnamed executives told Bilton that as the crisis deepened, employee morale plummeted, with more and more workers leaving their jobs or being fired while the US Securities and Exchange Commission was investigating the case.
But curiously, Mrs. Holmes remained fiercely optimistic.
"The company is collapsing, there are countless indictments that are piling up, employees are leaving in droves, and Elizabeth is just weird as a shredder," she said. explained a former senior executive. Vanity Fair piece.
Another said that she would be "chirpy" at meetings, acting as if everything was "awesome".
LEASE OF LAST MINUTE
In December 2017, Ms. Holmes announced to employees that private investment firm Fortress Investment Group had promised a loan of 100 million US dollars (140 million Australian dollars) to save the company.
But while Mrs. Holmes was visibly excited about the deal, the revelation was greeted by a deafening silence from her last disillusioned employees.
And that was not enough to save Theranos: a few months later, Ms. Holmes was slapped with eleven criminal charges, including wire and conspiracy.
A dark future
Mrs. Holmes is now at risk of 20 years imprisonment. She and Mr. Balwani could be even more blamed.
But according to the former anonymous manager who spoke with Mr. Bilton, Mrs. Holmes did not confess her mistakes, but blamed her former lawyers for "misguiding" her, and the Wall Street newspaper investigative journalist John Carreyrou, who first broke the Theranos scandal in 2015.
"Elizabeth sees herself as a victim," said the ex-employee.
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