Elizabeth Holmes' private texts reveal she described herself as the 'best business person of the year'
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes believed in herself so much that she wrote in a text message to Ramesh "Sunny" Balwani proclaiming that she had "total confidence in myself best business person of the year."
The message to her then-boyfriend and Theranos President Balwani are among thousands of private texts and Skype messages obtained by CNBC that show Holmes had no lack of confidence in herself and Theranos, the blood-testing company she founded. They also reveal that Holmes told Balwani about courting high-profile investors who ended up giving Theranos hundreds of millions of dollars.
"My new life as of this night and forever more: - total confidence in myself best business person of the year – focus – details excellence – don't give what anyone thinks – engage employees in meetings by stories and making it about them (ie prepare well)," Holmes texted Balwani in November 2014 while discussing the full moon that evening.
Ten minutes later, Holmes texted again: "No response?" Balwani responded: "Awesome. U r listening and paying attention…"
