
Rupert Murdoch Cashes in US$125M of Theranos Stock for US$1 - openmosix
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/90908598/rupert-murdoch-cashes-in-us125-million-of-theranos-stock-for-us1
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justboxing
> US$125 million of Theranos stock for US$1

I thought it was a click-bait title, but after reading the story, I am a
little confused.

Why would he take a $125 ( minus 1 $) loss? Tax credits? Or was / is the stock
worthless and the $125 mil is what he originally paid for, or accrued in
value?

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openmosix
Murdoch invested in Theranos ~100M a few years ago
[https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/29/rupert-
murdoch...](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/29/rupert-murdoch-
theranos-investment-wall-street-journal) You can only consider the investment
"failed" if the company goes belly up. Till then, you have to wait to write
the investment off (and request a tax credit on the loss). Selling it is a way
to proof your investment is now worth ~zero - so you can write it off in the
next fiscal year.

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stuaxo
About the only way the rest of society will see any of the wealth he is
sitting on.

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tedunangst
I have no idea what this means since he's selling for a loss to minimize the
amount of money he returns to society in the form of taxes.

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brilliantcode
Theranos did not have a product/market fit not because they didn't try but
they didn't actually have a working product at all it seems from the article.
It's interesting to see they've been kept afloat by big name investors all
these years.

edit: why is this comment being downvoted? Theranos failed and now looks like
investors are angry. Do you disagree?

~~~
beaconstudios
"not having product/market fit" is an interesting way of describing a company
that is being actively investigated for fraud by the SEC.

~~~
brilliantcode
not having product/market fit because you don't have a product but acted like
you did needs to be audited.

Note that this is different from not having product/market because of lack of
demand. which sums up SV startups.

It's one thing to rip people off, it's a whole another to build an entire
company around a non existent product. The latter takes some Talented Mr.
Ripley level of Machiavellianism ( or/and being born to a rich white connected
sugar daddy).

