“They gave her so much power. They gave her so much money. They gave her so much credibility, and they did not do their diligence. And on paper, the people who gave her $100 million checks are the victims. I think they are part of the problem.”
Search Engine · Tech Strategy & Big Tech · October 2026
Context
PJ Vogt suggested that the powerful older men on Theranos's board and cap table were simply suckered by Elizabeth Holmes. Schultz agrees they were the mark, but argues their lack of diligence is what made the fraud possible, with each big name vouching for the next.
Transcript
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…men have made tons of social. Mistakes and then tons of social damage in recent and past history in America. This is one story where, like, there were people who should have known better or should have figured stuff out sooner, but I think old white men were kind of suckered in this one story. Oh,
yeah, they were the mark. Yeah, they were the mark for Elizabeth. But I also think that they actually, I think, are responsible. They gave her so much power. They gave her so much money. They gave her so much credibility, and they did not do their diligence. And, you know, on paper, the people who gave her $100 million checks are the victims. I think they are part of the problem. Honestly, that's my take. And this happens all the time in investing. They were pointing at other people who they felt were the person who knew what was going on. Rupert Murdoch points at Larry Ellison. He's a genius. Larry Ellison points at my grandfather and says, George Schultz is a genius. My grandfather points at Channing Robertson says, Well, he's a genius. And that's why I say that Channing Robertson was the kernel of credibility that snowballed all this.
That snowball had ultimately meant that Tyler had had that evening at his grandfather's house with the hidden lawyers. When they'd appeared, it turned out they weren't holding an NDA. They had a temporary restraining order and a notice to appear in court that Friday. For Tyler, that evening was the…
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