A gripping tale of deceit, delusion and megalomania

Share

• Copy link
• Facebook
• X
• Linkedin
• Whatsapp
• Pinterest

Share this article

Join the conversation

Follow us

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Newsletter

Get the MoneyWeek Newsletter

Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors

---

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful

---

Want to add more newsletters?

Twice daily

MoneyWeek

Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.

Signup +

Four times a week

Look After My Bills

Sign up to our free money-saving newsletter, filled with the latest news and expert advice to help you find the best tips and deals for managing your bills. Start saving today!

Signup +

---

An account already exists for this email address, please log in.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Buy on Amazon

Entrepreneurs used to dream about taking their company public. These days, the booming private-equity markets mean firms can become billion-dollar "unicorns" and stay private. This helps firms take a more long-term approach and dodge red tape, but it also allows them to avoid awkward questions. This book is a cautionary tale of what can go wrong when that scrutiny is lacking.

Theranos was set up by Stanford dropout Elizabeth Holmes to commercialise her miniature blood diagnostic device. Her enthusiasm and charm convinced Safeway and Wallgreens to trial her technology, and persuaded Henry Kissinger and General James Mattis to join her board. She was acclaimed as a visionary, feted as the next Bill Gates.

MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

Tipped off by a business rival, Carreyrou, an investigative journalist with The Wall Street Journal, decided to investigate. He found evidence that the firm was not only misrepresenting progress, but also putting lives at risk by knowingly giving patients and doctors inaccurate test results. Theranos launched an aggressive (but ultimately unsuccessful) legal campaign to try to get him to drop the investigation, which only ended after the firm imploded.

Books on corporate scandals can be very dull, but Bad Blood is a real-life thriller. Striking the perfect balance between the wider picture and the human drama, Carreyrou has created a gripping tale of deceit, delusion and megalomania.