Remember Elizabeth Holmes, the female fraudster who claimed to detect cancer with a single drop of blood and created a medical miracle myth?
April 27 was supposed to be her prison reporting date, but she once again found an excuse to delay it...
The Fall of the "Female Steve Jobs"
Elizabeth Holmes is a relic of her time. A decade ago, when the internet was less developed, she was the top celebrity in Silicon Valley, known as the "blood-testing cancer detective" and "Female Steve Jobs."
Before 30, Elizabeth Holmes' life read like a heroine's empowerment novel.
She was a teenage prodigy. Interested in programming in high school, she successfully sold a C++ compiler to a Chinese university, earning her first pot of gold. Then she was admitted to Stanford to study chemical engineering. In her freshman year, she worked in a top global lab; as a sophomore, she registered a patent; as a junior, she dropped out of Stanford to focus full-time on her startup Theranos—thus began the myth of "blood-testing for cancer."
At 20, Holmes raised $6 million. Seven years after founding, the company received $92 million in venture capital. Holmes then brought former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz onto the board as an endorsement, and from then on, she was unstoppable.
At 30, she graced the covers of Fortune, Forbes, The New York Times, and was named by Forbes as the youngest self-made female billionaire in the world, ranking 110th on the global wealth list, with over 80 patents. In 2014, Theranos was valued at $9 billion, becoming a unicorn chased by capital.
But a scam is still a scam, and the reckoning came swiftly.
In 2015, a reporter from The Wall Street Journal first exposed Theranos' various fraudulent practices, including data fabrication and equipment issues, dropping a bombshell on the investment world.
As the truth surfaced, Theranos fell from grace.
Capital fled, the company faced massive lawsuits, its reputation ruined, layoffs ensued... The house of cards collapsed, and Theranos shut down in 2018.
Holmes herself was beset by lawsuits, and ultimately she was sentenced to 11 years and 3 months in prison on multiple counts.
The financial fraudster was caught, and everything should have been settled. But this woman, defying fate, managed to find loopholes in the law.
Just before the trial, in 2021 she gave birth to her first child in California, and due to pregnancy and the pandemic, the trial was repeatedly postponed.
In 2022, just weeks before the sentencing hearing, Holmes became pregnant again. In early 2023, she gave birth to her second child, forcing another postponement of her prison term.
Speculation abounded that Holmes was trying to delay prison by getting pregnant, but the California court issued an ultimatum: she must report to prison on April 27 this year.
However, in early April she suddenly filed an appeal, requesting to remain free during the appeal. Although initially rejected by the judge, she eventually got her way.
She's got the legal system figured out, and she still hasn't reported to prison 😅
The Billionaire Boyfriend Who Defied His Family for Her
Elizabeth Holmes' legendary life has once again piqued public curiosity: who is the one consistently cooperating with her in having children?
This devoted man who never abandons her, the champion of "digging wild vegetables", is named William Evans, and he's no ordinary person.
Born in San Diego, California, he is the heir to the Evans hotel and resort group, a true third-generation wealthy scion.
The group has a 70-year history, encompassing luxury resorts such as The Lodge at Torrey Pines, Bahia Resort Hotel, Catamaran Hotel Resort and Spa, with annual revenue around $125 million.
William's parents currently run the company, and he is the next successor.
Not only born with a silver spoon, this billionaire heir also boasts a top-notch education. He studied economics at MIT for his undergraduate degree, and during that time he studied abroad at Fudan University, majoring in Chinese language and literature.
In 2017, at a charity gala, 25-year-old Evans met 33-year-old Holmes, and sparks flew instantly.
One is the heir to a hotel empire, the other a fallen Silicon Valley entrepreneur—such is fate.
Evans recalls that he was deeply attracted to Holmes from the first meeting:
"When we're apart, the world seems to cease to exist."
"It's hard to open up to strangers, but Holmes was the exception. We hit it off instantly, and talking to her made me lose track of time."
In 2018, as Theranos collapsed, Holmes and Evans officially became a couple. As the saying goes, when one door closes in business, another opens in love.
In 2019, it's said they secretly married. The ceremony was extremely discreet, seemingly to the point that even Evans' family didn't attend 😅
According to insiders, the engagement ring was Evans' treasured MIT signet ring, deeply meaningful. Evans was 27 at the time, and Holmes was 35. Everyone around them was pessimistic about this age-gap and status-disparate relationship.
But this wealthy scion is completely love-struck, constantly doting on his wife.
After marriage, the couple lived on Evans' $135 million estate in Silicon Valley, spanning 74 acres (300,000 square meters)👇
Evans accompanied Holmes to every court appearance, and no matter how the world judged her, he loved her immensely.
Carrying her bags👇
Taking care of the kids👇
Always holding hands tightly👇
Always cozying up to his wife👇
When Holmes was found guilty in court, she showed almost no emotion, while Evans was visibly shaken, "wishing he could suffer in her place."
"The world doesn't understand her. They say she's a sales genius who could make investors, partners, and employees follow her willingly. In truth, she doesn't know sales at all. I would call her a madwoman willing to be crushed to change the world, with an almost religious fervor."
"The more I understand her, the more I love her."
To help Holmes get a reduced sentence, he wrote a lengthy, heartfelt plea to the judge, so moving that it brought tears to those who read it.
"She taught me patience and selflessness."
"The media keeps slandering her."
"She is my entire life, my spiritual guide, my light in the darkness."
"The thought of being apart from her breaks my heart."
......
I mean, if we don't have Evans in the world of web novels, I'm not reading.
To be with Holmes, he has been abandoned by all his family and friends:
"My relatives and friends have cut me off, and even my son has been shut out by the family."
An insider from the Evans family told the media that Evans' family was strongly opposed to his union with Holmes, with his family feeling like "What the hell are you doing?" As if he had been brainwashed.
Many relatives urged him to wake up:
"This is the biggest mistake you've ever made."
"Her negative energy will affect you too."
"You don't need to go through all this."
Defying the whole world only makes him love her more.
I mean, this young man really deserves to be digging wild vegetables in San Diego.
However, Holmes actually doesn't come from an ordinary background either. Her father served as a VP at an energy company and a government official, and her mother worked in Congress. Her great-great-great-grandfather was the founder of the Fleischmann yeast empire, once one of the wealthiest families in the US.
A fallen aristocratic female fraudster and the heir to a hotel empire—this bizarre couple, I'm already rooting for them.
This woman's saga has been turned into the Hulu series The Dropout👇 Check it out if you're interested.
Positive Examples of the Overbearing CEO Doting on His Wife
While we watch people digging wild vegetables and choose to respect and wish them well, we also encourage everyone to root for better pairs; there are countless positive examples of business tycoons and elite school goddesses.
For instance, this billionaire splurged $500 million to fund his Stanford wife's research, directly granting her scientific freedom.
The overbearing CEO Patrick Collison is one of the youngest billionaires in the world, co-founder of the well-known financial services company Stripe, which was valued at $95 billion last year.
The female lead Silvana Konermann is a neuroscience Ph.D. from MIT, an assistant professor of biochemistry at Stanford, and founder of the Arc Institute.
He, a tech titan and super-rich magnate. She, an elite school professor and female scientist.
Their connection began when they both participated in a science competition at age 17. Starting as youthful rivals, they later each excelled in their fields and married quietly after achieving fame. Equally matched, they empowered each other.
MIT's beautiful professor Neri Oxman also has a doting CEO husband.
This CEO splurged $500 million to build her an art and media design lab in Manhattan, so his wife could focus on her career.
Love them, and join them in changing the world.
Who wouldn't love watching such a power-couple romance?
True love isn't about defying the whole world and being shunned by all, but about helping each other become better.
Of course, as bystanders, we just watch and enjoy～
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