Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim’s new documentary, *You Can See Everything*, has dropped like a bomb, absolutely exploding into theaters on October 16 and bringing with it a fresh wave of scrutiny on Elizabeth Holmes and her failed company, Theranos. This isn’t just some indie flick; it’s already pulled in over $50 million in less than two weeks, snagging Oscar buzz and shining a harsh light on one of the biggest frauds in biotech history.
The Theranos Dream and Nightmare
Fielder and Oppenheim had insane access to Holmes in the final 34 days before she started her more than 11-year federal prison sentence for defrauding investors. The film digs deep into Theranos, the company that promised to run any blood test from just a single drop of blood. Sounds like sci-fi, right? Well, it was. The dream crashed hard after a 2015 Wall Street Journal report by John Carreyrou exposed the company’s struggles to deliver on its promises. Soon, the whole thing unraveled. Investors, who had pumped over $1.3 billion into Theranos, started bailing when questions began piling up. A whistleblower even got intimidated and threatened for raising red flags about doctored research and manipulated quality control. Holmes was eventually convicted on four counts of fraud in 2022, after a company that once peaked at a nearly $10 billion valuation turned out to be a house of cards.
NFL, NBA, and the Big Bet
What’s really popping off now is the revelation of who exactly got caught up in this mess. Turns out, some serious players in professional sports ownership groups went all-in on Holmes’s vision. The Walton family, yep, the Walmart heirs who bought the Denver Broncos for a record $4.65 billion in 2022 *after* Theranos collapsed, were the single largest backer. They dropped a mind-boggling $150 million into the startup, according to unsealed lawsuit documents reported by Carreyrou. Rob Walton, who chaired Walmart for decades, was the initial controlling owner of the Broncos before passing the reins to his son-in-law Greg Penner in 2023.
But they weren’t alone. Longtime New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, the guy who’s seen his team grab six Super Bowl titles in an 18-year dynasty since he bought the team in 1994, also reportedly invested an estimated $1 million. And then there’s the DeVos family, who have owned the Orlando Magic since 1991. They were the third-largest supporter of Holmes’s company, investing roughly $100 million. That figure actually made headlines back in 2018 because family member Betsy DeVos was Secretary of Education at the time.
The Blunder That Spilled the Beans
So, how did we even find out about these high-profile sports figures getting burned? It was a total, classic gaffe. Back in late 2016, amidst all the public scrutiny, Theranos sent an update email to 132 “Theranos investors.” Instead of using blind carbon copy, they accidentally listed every single investor right there in the open. The message, with all those names, eventually leaked to Carreyrou. Representatives for The Kraft Group and the Walton family were right there on that email list. While none of these owners have publicly commented on their investments, and the listed owners didn’t immediately respond to comment requests, that email spill laid it all bare for the world to see.
This documentary isn’t just rehashing old news; it’s peeling back another layer, showing us just how far and wide Holmes’s deception reached, even snagging some of the biggest names in sports ownership. The buzz around *You Can See Everything* is only getting louder, keeping this wild story right in the spotlight and making everyone wonder who else out there bought into the Theranos dream.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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