Billy Evans and the Legacy of San Diego's Evans Hotels

The documentary 'You Can See Everything' places Billy Evans at the center of a narrative that many viewers interpret as a critique of his partner, Elizabeth Holmes. Evans, 34, is not a corporate executive in the traditional sense, but his family name carries weight in San Diego. His grandparents, William and Anne Evans, founded Evans Hotels in 1953, establishing a presence in a city that was still largely undeveloped marshland at the time.

The company owned the Bahia Resort Hotel, the first commercial lessee on Mission Bay. Over the following decades, the family expanded its holdings to include the Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa in Mission Bay and The Lodge at Torrey Pines in La Jolla. Bill Evans, Billy's father, became a prominent local figure. In 2012, the news outlet Voice of San Diego described him as a man of influence who sat on numerous regional boards and maintained close relationships with local politicians.

The family's power was evident in a 40-year lease agreement secured from the city in 2012. The deal was rushed through City Council to take advantage of low interest rates and included a provision allowing for a 50-year lease if a major redevelopment project was approved. Voice of San Diego noted that the agreement did not require immediate redevelopment of the property.

Tensions between the Evans family and local stakeholders persisted for years. In 2011, Bill Evans opposed a plan to expand the Convention Center that would have imposed a tax increase on his hotel guests. In 2016, a coalition of San Diego Chargers advocates targeted Evans Hotels for a boycott, arguing that the hotel industry had blocked hotel tax increases needed to fund the new stadium. By 2018, Evans Hotels filed a lawsuit alleging that local unions were using environmental and land-use issues as leverage against public lease agreements, a dispute stemming from an attempt to build a hotel near Sea World.

Billy Evans stepped away from the family business early in his career. He attended Francis Parker School in San Diego before earning a degree in economics from MIT. According to WIRED, he attempted to launch a concierge medical services startup before working at LinkedIn and Luminar Technologies, a self-driving car company. He met Holmes in San Francisco in 2017, around the time she was indicted by a federal grand jury.

Although Evans refers to Holmes as his wife, she confirmed in a 2025 interview with People that they are not legally married. The couple engaged in 2018. Holmes stated that while her family was initially skeptical of the relationship, they ultimately supported her during her trial. Evans' mother wrote a letter to the judge in support of Holmes, and his father attended the trial under an assumed name, introducing himself to reporters as a concerned citizen who fixed old cars.

The film, directed by Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim, documents the 34 days before Holmes began serving her 11-year prison sentence in May 2023. Much of the footage was shot at the couple's rented beach house in Del Mar. In a scene from the film, Evans describes his new venture to Fielder as an attempt to put the band back together. When Fielder asks if it is Theranos 2.0, Evans replies, Yes.

That venture is Haemanthus, a startup that raised $20 million as of 2025. The company, incorporated in 2024, claims to use lasers and AI to improve disease testing for conditions like cancer and Parkinson's. Haemanthus has not yet released a product and states that Holmes has zero involvement with the company. Evans appeared on the All-In podcast last month, saying the documentary was intended to show who Holmes is. When asked if the movie achieved that goal, he said, I haven't seen it yet. I mean, I might think this is the dumbest thing I've ever done.