6 surprising facts about Elizabeth Holmes, former CEO of Theranos – from the one-time billionaire’s ultra-strict daily routine to her cringey texts to ‘controlling’ ex Sunny Balwani

Dec 29 , 2021

Founder and former CEO of start-up Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, is currently on trial for fraud. Photo: Getty Images

The founder of Silicon Valley blood-testing start-up Theranos is currently on trial for fraud, dividing the internet into #TeamHolmes or #TeamTruth

Holmes, who is married to Billy Evans, used to wake up at 4am, quote Jane Austen, and recently called on her former Stanford sorority sisters to show up for her trial

The fate of the woman who fooled Silicon Valley, Elizabeth Holmes, lies in the hands of 12 jury members. They continued their deliberations on December 27, Monday morning, in relation to a dozen felony counts related to Holmes and her fraudulent blood-testing start-up, Theranos.

The 37-year-old former billionaire founded the company at 19, and is accused of hoodwinking everybody into thinking she could conduct blood tests using just a few drops of blood. Her trial has resulted in a cult following – you are either #TeamHolmes or #TeamTruth. But just who is the woman behind the charges?

Here are six things you may not know about Silicon Valley’s most well-known businesswoman, Elizabeth Holmes.

1. Privacy was everything, even with food

The fraud trial of Elizabeth Holmes, former CEO of Theranos, is nearing an end as the jury deliberates. Photo: Reuters

Holmes was very selective about what she shared with her staff. Her assistant, Paige Williams, who worked for her from 2015 to 2018, told the FBI that information such as Holmes’ food preferences could not be shared with anyone, according to Mercury News. Williams said that food lists and shopping items were kept at home because she didn’t want people to know about her eating habits.

Former CEO of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, reportedly followed a vegan diet for a period of time. Photo: Shutterstock

Williams said the disgraced CEO was vegan for a period and “did not want it to be made a big deal”. In an interview with The New Yorker in 2014, Holmes said she drank a concoction of cucumber, parsley, kale, spinach, romaine lettuce and celery several times a day.

2. The Balwani relationship

Elizabeth Holmes’ ex-boyfriend, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. Photo: @MalpracticeLaw1/Twitter

Before Holmes tied the knot with hospitality heir Billy Evans in a “secret” ceremony in 2019, she dated Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani for about 12 years. Holmes, who was 18 at the time, met then-37-year-old Balwani, her former second-in-command at Theranos, in 2002. According to Refinery29, they started dating in 2004. Then, in 2009, Balwani joined Theranos. According to Mercury News, Williams told the FBI the couple did everything they could to keep their relationship private, but it soon became clear they were running Theranos as a “partnership”.

Elizabeth Holmes and her ex-boyfriend Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, who was also second-in-command at Theranos. Photo: @profblue/Twitter

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