Thursday, May 03, 2018

Private Equity: The Bigger They Come...

Theranos and founder Elizabeth Holmes raised $700 million from mostly wealthy investors without ever having to provide financial statements audited by an independent public accounting firm.

Rarely have so many high-profile figures been known to have lost so much money on a single investment.

Investors who lost hugely on Theranos, the company built around a magically simple blood test that didn't work, include the family of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Walton heirs, Rupert Murdoch and Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim.

Although Theranos' big-name investors lost plenty – the Walton family had invested $150 million – presumably their standard of living will not be affected. Mere millionaires who jumped at the chance to invest along with the big shots may not shrug off their losses so easily.

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