When it involves fame and infamy, former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes has apparently cornered the market.
Internet sellers are cashing in on mugs, T-shirts and even bathe curtains within the weeks earlier than her felony fraud trial begins in August.
A assessment of on-line shops exhibits greater than 50 listings of Holmes and Theranos merchandise on Etsy, Poshmark, eBay and Redbubble.
One of the extra distinctive objects is what’s billed as an genuine Theranos lab coat listed for $17,000.
Holmes, as soon as a Silicon Valley darling, is dealing with federal wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud prices in reference to allegedly deceiving buyers, sufferers and docs about her firm’s blood testing expertise.
Yet prospects are raving about their product purchases on social media.
In one TikTok, a younger girl is seen posing in a mirror sporting a pink T-shirt that reads “Elizabeth Holmes is my #GirlBoss.”
Another TikToker exhibits off a mug that includes Holmes on one aspect and Theranos on the opposite. She says “I truly do wish that Elizabeth Holmes had an MLM so that I could join it.” An MLM is a controversial multilevel advertising and marketing operation that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission cautions could also be a pyramid scheme.
And one other pulls a T-shirt out of a package deal, proclaiming: “Y’all it’s here. The queen of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes.”
A search of Instagram and Twitter additionally exhibits prospects posing with their merchandise.
Holmes, who’s pregnant and due subsequent month, is dealing with as much as 20 years in jail if convicted. She has pleaded not responsible to the fees. Before the downfall of Theranos, her picture was seemingly in every single place, even touchdown her on the duvet of Forbes.
Today, regardless of a battered picture and an upcoming 13-week-long trial, her model remains to be apparently in style.
“It doesn’t surprise me, Elizabeth Holmes was a very inspiring person,” says Mark Macias, founding father of Macias PR. “She was the youngest female billionaire, self-made entrepreneur and even though we found out it was allegedly fraud — she sold something that was revolutionary.”
Anthony, proprietor of the Etsy store “Finance Memes” says gross sales for his Holmes-related merchandise have spiked since February. Anthony requested CNBC to not use his final identify for worry of jeopardizing his employment.
“You see it with Wall Street Bets – people love to talk about how much they’ve lost,” mentioned Anthony. “There’s an obsession with fraud, gambling and taking bad risks. Everyone loves a good villain.”
A mug that claims “Theranos Early Investor” is his Etsy store’s hottest merchandise, Anthony says. “It’s a little more low key, you can stash it in your drawer when your boss walks by.” Anthony says he is had over 200 visits on the mug in the previous couple of months.
“There’s always going to be people on the fringe, who want to express themselves, take on the establishment and show the finger at them,” Macias mentioned. Yet, he warns, “if you want to have a long-lasting brand then it’s better to be famous. Infamy is short, it can ruin and destroy a brand.”
For Holmes, no matter picture she initiatives, it is eternal.
As James Surowiecki, an MSNBC columnist, wrote in a current piece, “on the way up and on the way down, one thing about Elizabeth Holmes has stayed consistent: People are fascinated by her.”
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