One of the most extreme stories of a person with a lot of money who lost practically everything due to problems with legal accusations and to the mismanagement of her company is that of Elizabeth Holmes, the former CEO of Theranos, who at the peak of her entrepreneurship was considered by Forbes as one of the richest women in the world in 2014, with an approximate net worth of $4.5 billion according to the same source.
What is Holmes' stake in Theranos?
At the time, Holmes owned a 50% stake in Theranos, a company that was founded in 2003 and was solely private investors who at the time purchased the aforementioned stakes at a company valuation of approximately $9 billion.
This company, whose goal was to revolutionize the diagnostic testing market, and which was mostly dedicated to blood testing, has been accused of inaccurate testing and fraud allegations and is under federal investigation for several issues including the fact that they have not proven that their needle-free blood collection system works, the lack of reliable data publication, and that the target market for this product probably no longer exists.
How much is Theranos really worth?
Because of this, according to a FORBES study where it consults a dozen venture capitalists, analysts and industry experts, the initial valuation of Theranos when Holmes bought the $9 billion stake, is actually now $800 million, that decline makes one think that Holmes' stake is worth practically nothing, because whatever can be raised, will be paid to him, the original investors would get their invested money back first, as they have preference, most likely then the money will run out and Holmes will get practically nothing.
According to VC Experts, Theranos could have raised close to $724 million for intellectual property.
