holmes sentenced

Disgraced Theranos CEO and former Houstonian Elizabeth Holmes sentenced to 11 years for fraud

Former Houstonian Elizabeth Holmes has her day in court ion November 18.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A former Houstonian who became the face of recent white-collar, Silicon Valley fraud case is facing more than a decade in prison.

Elizabeth Holmes, founder of blood-testing startup Theranos, was sentenced to more than 11 years in prison on Friday, November 18 in San Jose, California. The sentencing comes her conviction in January for defrauding Theranos investors.

“I suppose we step back and ask what is the pathology of fraud? Is it the refusal to accept responsibility or express contrition in any way?" Judge Edward Davila said during the ruling, according to Yahoo! Finance. "Perhaps that is the cautionary tale that will go forward from this case."

Specifically, Holmes' sentence is 11 years and three months in prison, with another three years of supervision after release. Additionally, Holmes faces a fine of $400 million to be paid at a later date. Davila ordered Holmes, who is widely expected to appeal her sentence, to turn herself into custody on April 27, 2023.

Once compared to disruptors and innovators Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, Holmes rose to fame by enticing investors with the promise that her Theranos could run hundreds of blood tests via a simple pin prick. Buzz for Theranos grew to the point that Theranos was valued at $9 billion, which made Holmes the world’s first self-made female billionaire.

Yet, after securing more than $900 million in funding, Theranos was proven to be essentially bogus by the Wall Street Journal in 2015.

Facing up to 20 years in prison, a tearful Holmes, who is pregnant, addressed the court. "I stand before you taking responsibility for Theranos," she said, per Yahoo. "I loved Theranos. It was my life’s work. My team meant the world to me. They wanted to make a difference in the world. I am devastated by my failings," she said. "Every day for the past years, I have felt deep pain for the people…those people who believe in us and those patients. I worked so hard to serve. I gave everything I had to try to to build...Theranos. Looking back, there are so many things I would do differently. I tried to realize my dream too quickly."

Holmes is the subject of a Hulu documentary, The Dropout, which centers on her early life in Houston, where she grew up in Tanglewood and attended St. John's School. Her father's layoff from Enron is presented as clearly an inciting incident in her life. As The Dropout depicts, Holmes would meet boyfriend/partner Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani, drop out of Stanford, and launch Theranos.

One of the most memorable lines in the miniseries comes when a young Holmes plainly states her goals at a family gathering. "I wanna be a billionaire," she said plainly — a memorable and clearly prophetic statement.

closing the gaps

Texas no longer leads U.S. for racial progress, new report says

Photo by Jerry Kavan on Unsplash

WalletHub's report is released annually ahead of MLK Day.

Texas has been overtaken as the No. 1 state that has made the most racial progress, according to a new study.

The Lone Star State led the nation in 2025, but now ranks in third place behind Georgia (No. 1) and Mississippi (No. 2). It also ranked No. 5 nationally in the list of states with the most racial integration.

WalletHub's "States That Have Made the Most Racial Progress" study is released annually ahead of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The report compares all 50 states and the District of Columbia across 22 relevant metrics divided into two main rankings: racial integration (which the study defines as "the current integration levels of white people and Black people") and racial progress (defined as "the levels of racial progress achieved over time").

The report's author clarifies that the study focuses only on the racial integration between Black people and white people "in light of racial tensions in recent years that sparked the Black Lives Matter movement."

"We released this report ahead of the holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who played a prominent role in the Civil Rights Movement to end segregation and discrimination against Black people," the report says.

The study further divided each ranking into four main categories measuring the gaps between white people and Black people over time; spanning employment and wealth, education, social and civic engagement, and health. Texas performed the best in education and health, ranking No. 4 nationally in both categories, and it ranked in sixth place for its social and civic engagement. The state ranked 16th in the category for employment and wealth.

According to WalletHub, Texas has "done a lot" to reduce gaps in health outcomes for white and Black residents, such as reducing gaps in health insurance coverage, and reducing the share of Black Texans suffering from "poor health" and diabetes. It also notes that Texas "made the second-most progress when it comes to obesity," but it did not acknowledge the racial bias in body mass index (BMI) that has been increasingly flagged in recent years.

The report further praises Texas for reducing the gap in business ownership between white and Black Texans, and for its improvement in reducing discrimination in the parole system. WalletHub does not offer data behind the parole claim.

"It’s encouraging to look at the data and see that some states have made significant strides toward racial equality over the past few decades," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo regarding the overall report. "This change demonstrates that state-level policies and residents’ attitudes regarding equality have grown considerably better."

Though racial disparity gaps are closing between white and Black people, racial profiling and discrimination is still a major issue affecting Black people and other people of color across the country.

In 2023, a senate bill banned public Texas universities from having diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and programs, prompting warnings of discrimination against Black, Hispanic, and other marginalized students, including those with disabilities.

The top 10 states with the most racial progress in 2026 are:

No. 1 – Georgia
No. 2 – Mississippi
No. 3 – Texas
No. 4 – North Carolina
No. 5 – Maryland
No. 6 – Florida
No. 7 – New Jersey
No. 8 – Massachusetts
No. 9 – Louisiana
No. 10 – New Mexico

wallethub texas report mlk day