Former Chief Operating Officer and President of the controversial firm Theranos, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, is a businessman who’s also an ex-lover of Elizabeth Holmes. Theranos has been condemned in the media for its dubious claims and methods. As of 2022. Sunny Balwani’s net worth is $40 million, but after his legal issues, his wealth will be lower.
Early Life
Ramesh was born into a Sindhi family somewhere in Pakistan. His birthday is June 13, 1965, making him 56 at the time of writing. Eventually, his family relocated to India. He spent most of his youth in India.
He moved to the United States in 1986 to study information systems at the University of Texas. He worked for Lotus Software and Microsoft after graduating from university. He then co-founded CommerceBid.com. He sold the company in 2000.
Balwani decided to get a Master of Business Administration degree because he was financially stable. He enrolled at the University of California, Berkeley, and graduated in 2003. After that, he enrolled in Stanford University’s computer science graduate program but didn’t finish.
Meeting Elizabeth Holmes
Sunny Balwani met Elizabeth Holmes in 2002 while he was a student at UC Berkeley. He was 37 at the time and was a married man. Holmes was just 18 years old and just finished her senior year of high school.
They spent the summer together in Beijing, China, as part of Stanford’s Summer Mandarin Course group. He divorced his wife, Keiko Fujimoto, an artist from Japan, in December 2002.
He reportedly got romantically involved with Holmes in 2003. Elizabeth stated that she was raped as a Stanford student and that she sought comfort from Balwani because of the crime. They moved into an apartment together, but their relationship ended after over a decade.
Career at Theranos
In 2003, Holmes founded Theranos and was its CEO until 2018. Balwani was appointed president and chief operating officer in 2009. He assumed command of daily operations.
He had no background in biological sciences or hospital equipment, which was a problem because the company’s board of directors lacked medical expertise.
Sunny’s behavior was also a problem. Employees described him as arrogant, harsh, and demanding. For much of their stint as executives, Holmes and Balwani kept their romantic relationship a secret.
Legal Issues
In October 2015, the Wall Street Journal claimed that Theranos’ Edison blood testing equipment provided misleading medical diagnoses and findings. Balwani was given a two-year ban from running a blood lab by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
The SEC charged Balwani and Holmes with securities fraud in March 2018, alleging that they defrauded investors out of more than $700 million through a sophisticated scheme in which they inflated or made false claims about the company’s operations.
Prosecutors charged Holmes and Balwani with two criminal conspiracies on June 15, 2018, one to cheat investors and the other to defraud customers.
Current Status
Sunny Balwani, like Elizabeth, faces a 20-year prison sentence on fraud accusations. However, he is not currently in police custody. His exact location and status are still undisclosed.
