Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes Is Holding a Hillary Fundraiser With Chelsea Clinton

Elizabeth Holmes, CEO of the embattled blood-testing startup Theranos, has struggled with commercial partners, shed board members and a lot of credibility over the last few months. Prize-winning reporting from the Wall Street Journal indicates that her multibillion dollar startup’s highly publicized blood-testing technology isn’t as successful as Theranos has made it seem.

One person Holmes hasn’t lost? Hillary Clinton, apparently.

Next Monday, Holmes is hosting a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign in Palo Alto. The event includes a conversation with former First Family member Chelsea Clinton, and participants who pay $2,700 get to go to a “host reception” with Chelsea.

According to an email sent out to potential attendees, the fundraiser will take place at the Theranos Palo Alto headquarters. “Participation Levels” start at $100 a pop for students, and for “Friends” at $250. You can read more details in the invitation we’ve copied below, and we’ve reached out to the Clinton campaign for more information on whether those donations are suggested or mandatory.

Theranos’s political connections extend well beyond the Clintons. Controversial Beltway power broker and Nixon national security doyen Henry Kissinger, ex-Secretary of State George P. Schultz and former U.S senator Sam Nunn all used to serve on the Theranos board of directors. Bill Frist, a former Republican Senator who is also a trained medical doctor, still holds a seat on the board.

Previously, Holmes has participated in Clinton Foundation events, including a January 2015 “Health Matters Summit” that also included Donald Trump’s in-law and Oscar Health co-founder Josh Kushner. This past September, Holmes also spoke at the Clinton Foundation’s “Future of Impact” event in New York City. Chelsea Clinton, who has been hitting the campaign trail on her mother’s behalf, is one of the key figures at the Clinton Foundation and for the Clinton Global Initiative.

The Holmes-led fundraiser comes in the middle of a Silicon Valley and San Francisco fundraising swing for the Clinton campaign. Chelsea Clinton is also doing an event at the home of SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive (with “special guest” Michael Franti [See update at bottom]), and Hillary will be making stops on Wednesday, March 23.

The Clinton campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CONVERSATION WITH CHELSEA CLINTON
Monday, March 21st
11:00 AM
Hosted by Elizabeth Holmes
Offices of Theranos
Palo Alto, CA
(Address available upon RSVP)
Participation Levels:
+ Co-host: $2,700 – contribute or raise $2,700 includes host reception with Chelsea Clinton
+ Friend: $1,000
+ Supporter: $500
+ Friend: $250
+ Student: $100

Correction: A representative for Michael Franti reached out to say that the information in the email sent by Clinton’s campaign was false. Franti will not be a “special guest” at next week’s campaign event at the home of SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive.