From Richest Self-Made Woman In America To Zero Wealth
Updated: July 25, 2016 17:09 IST
In 2015, Forbes had named Elizabeth Holmes the richest self-made woman in America. Later, this year, the magazine reduced its estimate of the net worth of the founder and chief executive of health technology company Theranos Inc to zero.
Forbes magazine in June this year reduced its estimate of net worth of Elizabeth Holmes to zero from $4.5 billion (nearly Rs 30,000 crore) last year. She holds a 50 per cent stake in Theranos.
The company, once valued at $9 billion, was founded by Ms Holmes, a Stanford University dropout, to develop an innovative blood testing device that would give quicker results using just one drop of blood. However, its fortunes waned after the Wall Street Journal published a series of articles starting in October last year that suggested the devices were flawed and inaccurate.
US authorities in July this year banned Elizabeth Holmes from owning or running a medical laboratory for two years. The sanctions came after government inspectors found a number of violations of federal testing standards at the company's site. The US authorities also revoked a key certificate for Theranos California lab and terminated the facility's approval to receive government payments. After this decision, Forbes reiterated its estimate of Ms Holmes net worth.
32-year-old Holmes started Palo Alto-based Theranos in 2003, pitching the company's technology as a cheaper way to run dozens of blood tests.
Ms Holmes, once considered the nation's youngest female billionaire, said she was inspired to start the company in response to her fear of needles. Theranos raised millions in start-up funding by promoting its tests as costing a "fraction" of what other labs charge.
