John McAfee is the perfect example of the saying “True geniuses are madmen”. John McAfee- a computer programmer, businessman, millionaire, Presidential candidate and a crypto influencer. At the age of 73 years, he is a wanted fugitive who has not given up on his presidential campaign. On the run from the Justice Department, he doesn’t fail to post his opinions ad whereabouts to his one million followers on twitter.
From starting a company and making millions out of it to bashing the same company online, he has done it all. McAfee’s life is nothing short of a thriller movie and it will be an understatement to call it just crazy. Let’s get you up to date with this wild man’s life.
The Rags to Riches Story
• Born in 1945, he has dual British and American citizenship. His father who was an abusive alcoholic committed suicide when McAfee was 15 years old. Owing to that fact, he had a very troubled childhood. In spite of that, he received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Roanoke College.
• He started drinking and taking drugs at a young age. He got jobs easily because he had excellent knowledge and skills. He worked at big companies such as NASA, Xerox, etc. He was never stable due to his addictions. He was in fact often found drinking, taking drugs, and selling them to co-workers in the office. He was fired and claims that it was a wake-up call for him, he is sober since then.
• He found a code called ‘virus’ and predicted that its danger would grow exponentially over time. He, therefore, started developing software’s to combat the same and started a company called ‘McAfee Associates’
• As he predicted, the threat of viruses had grown exponentially and McAfee became a multi-million-dollar business. After a few years, he sold off his stake in the company.
The Roller Coaster Ride
His rags to riches story is enough for any movie to have its plot complete but John McAfee is truly an eccentric figure. The truly interesting part of his life started after he sold out his stake of the company.
• McAfee had a net worth of over 100 million dollars and as the recession struck in 2008 it plunged to 4 million dollars.
• He had to let go of his 9 homes, a fleet of planes, timeless art pieces, etc. due to the recession.
• He decided to move to Belize to use the natural forests to make all-natural antibiotics. He set up a lab in his home which was raided on the suspicion that McAfee was making meth. He was always accused of something or the else.
• A major blow came his way when he has declared a person of interest in the murder of his American neighbour Gregory Faull.
• He claimed that he had evidence of corruption in the government of Belize for which he was being punished.
• McAfee decided to flee and went to Guatemala for asylum. He was declined and was going to be deported back to Belize.
• He faked two heart attacks there and was finally sent back to America. The day after he was deported, he met his current wife who was 36 years younger than him and working as a sex worker at the time.
• John went to great lengths and called the McAfee antivirus “the worst software on the planet” and also made a parody video on YouTube titled “How to Uninstall McAfee Antivirus” and completely bashed the company on every account. Watching the video is not quite recommended for children.
• He started his political party called “Cyber Party” and ran for President. He then abandoned the party and went to the Republicans instead where he was beaten.
• He became the CEO of MGT Capital Investments in 2016 and later resigned from the company
• He actively supports the cryptocurrency. He says that he is the prime target for hackers, which leads him to outsource all his computers and change his IP address several times a day. He has openly accepted that he has not paid his taxes for 8 years and has tried every drug.
• He is currently facing an arrest for tax evasion charges but has fled the country. He was detained in the Dominican Republic for gun charges for four days and chose to go to London after being released.
• He is currently living in a “faraday cage” which is a room covered completely by tin foil and metal. He says he will continue his Presidential Campaign and his voice cannot be shut.
The wild movie called the life of John McAfee has not finished yet, with the suspense still looming in the air. McAfee’s story has delivered incredibly until we wait for the climax. His story leads you to question if it is even possible for someone’s life to play out like that. All we have to do is to wait and watch to find out if there is a nail-biting incredible ending to this crazy story.
- Sunidhi Shende
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