What Happened To John McAfee? A Riches To Rags Story

John McAfee has never been the type of person to follow someone else’s lead. He blazes his own path. That approach to life has led to plenty of—shall we say—interesting events.

Once known as a leader in the tech industry, today, it’s more likely that headlines about him focus on his riches to rags story. They also usually include a fair amount of paranoia, boastful claims, and alleged criminal activity.

How Did John McAfee Make His Money?

John McAfee’s early life showed extraordinary promise from a talented, intelligent young man. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Roanoke College. In 2008, Roanoke College gave him an honorary Doctor of Science degree for his contributions to technology.

Shortly after graduating in 1967, McAfee got a job as a programmer for NASA’s Institute for Space Studies. He worked there until 1970, when he became a software designer at Univac. He later transferred to an operating system architect position at Xerox.

While these jobs gave him opportunities to hone his programming and systems architecture skills, they offered typical wages. Nothing that would lead to riches. McAfee—not one to accept the status quo—moved his career to Computer Sciences Corporation, where he worked as a consultant and gained more freedom to pursue his interests.

In the 1980s, John McAfee began working on the project that would define his fame. After he received a copy of the Brain computer virus, he became obsessed with developing antivirus software. By 1987, he had made enough progress to start McAfee Associates, a computer antivirus company with products that have become ubiquitous.

McAfee believed in his software, although he laments what the company became after he sold his stake for $100 million in 1996. Although no longer working with the company, the name McAfee had become synonymous with antivirus software. The majority of personal computers sold today come with McAfee software installed on them.

With $100 million to his name, McAfee had become a very wealthy man with enough resources to live independently and pursue any project that attracted his attention. Unfortunately for him, $100 million was reportedly the highest net worth he has reached.

John McAfee Crypto Enthusiast

In 2016, McAfee became the CEO and chief executive chairman of MGT Capital Investments. The company had originally focused on social gaming, but McAfee redirected it toward cybersecurity. He made several claims about the work his team at MGT Capital Investments had accomplished, but reporters never found clear evidence supporting the claims.

McAfee believes that blockchain technology will play an essential role in cybersecurity’s future. Given this perspective, it wasn’t surprising when he had MGT invest in mining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, which often use blockchain ledgers to record transactions.

By the next year, McAfee transitioned from the CEO role to a position called “chief cybersecurity visionary.” McAfee was already getting bored with cybersecurity, though, and wanted to spend more time working with cryptocurrencies. He left MGT in 2018 and took the CEO position at Luxcore, a company that identifies enterprise solutions for cryptocurrencies.

The futures of Luxcore and McAfee are currently in limbo. In early 2021, federal prosecutors charged McAfee and one other person with fraud. Among other things, the accusation states that the pair used McAfee’s popular social media accounts to artificially inflate cryptocurrencies for their personal benefit.

At the time of his indictment, McAfee was being held in Spain for criminal tax evasion charges.

John McAfee Bitcoin Predictions

McAfee has made a lot of bitcoin predictions over the years. In 2017, he claimed that the cryptocurrency’s value would reach $1 million per coin by the end of 2020. He later revised his statement, putting the value at $500,000 by the end of 2020. As of mid-2021, bitcoin’s value has not exceeded $70,000.

Eventually, McAfee said that he had never believed in bitcoin’s future. He called it a “worthless coin.” These would seem like incredible words from anyone else. But it seems to fit well with McAfee’s personality and history. The next section will explain why no one should be surprised by McAfee’s erratic behavior.

What Happened To John McAfee?

McAfee has lived in several countries, often moving from place to place to avoid authorities. He often posts videos depicting himself as paranoid and seriously armed for any attack. Portraying himself as an unhinged person obsessed with guns and violence probably didn’t help him much in 2012 when Belize police began investigating him for murder.

Belize authorities were already keeping a close eye on McAfee. In April 2012, a Gang Suppression Unit raided his property and arrested him for operating an unlicensed drug manufacturing facility. He was also arrested for possessing an unregistered firearm.

Somehow, McAfee managed to walk away from the situation without any charges.

In November 2012, the police named McAfee as a person of interest connected to the murder of Gregory Viant Faull, an American expatriate living on Ambergris Caye, Belize’s largest island. McAfee and Faull had been neighbors.

According to some, trouble started between the two when McAfee’s dogs died after eating poisoned meat. The claims say that McAfee blamed Faull, suggesting that McAfee had a motive to kill Faull.

McAfee refused to cooperate with the police. He would not even answer basic questions. At first chance, he fled his home and went on the run, dodging the Belize authorities at every turn. He managed to exit the country and relocate to Guatemala.

McAfee claimed that he was in hiding, so he would not reveal his location on social media posts. Unfortunately for him, he agreed to do an interview with journalists from Vice Media. A photograph that included with the story contained geolocation information that showed McAfee coordinates. McAfee approached the government, seeking asylum. Instead, authorities arrested him for entering the country illegally.

Eventually, McAfee was forced to pay $25 million for the murder of Faull. Still, he managed to avoid jail time and continued trying to live in secret (while constantly posting to social media).

McAfee has faced many more legal problems, including:

• A 2015 arrest in Tennessee for driving under the influence and carrying a firearm while intoxicated.
• A 2019 arrest in the Dominican Republic for suspicion of carrying high-caliber weapons (he was released from jail days later).
• A 2020 arrest in Spain arranged by the U.S. Justice Department for tax evasion (McAfee has publicly claimed he does not pay federal income tax, which he considers an illegal act by the government).

How Did McAfee Lose His Money?

John McAfee has made several questionable financial decisions that have drained most of his wealth.

Choosing to sell his stake in the McAfee company was arguably a mistake, although he couldn’t have known that at the time. He received $100 million, which has been the prominent source of his wealth throughout his life. Had he held onto his shares, though, they would be worth about $7.7 billion today.

McAfee spent his money quickly by purchasing:

• A mansion with five acres of oceanfront property in Hawaii.
• A 157-acre ranch in New Mexico.
• A Cessna 10-passenger jet.
• A 280-acre property with a 10,000-square-foot home in Colorado.

When he sold his Colorado estate, he only received $5.7 million. He had spent approximately $25 million on the property.

Perhaps the worst decision McAfee made was investing millions of dollars in Lehman Brothers bonds. He made this investment decision to diversify his portfolio. He lost his entire investment in 2008 when Lehman Brothers collapsed and filed for bankruptcy.

McAfee probably still has a few million dollars to his name, so he isn’t exactly poor. During his time in Belize, he led a relatively modest lifestyle. His upcoming lawsuits may finally bankrupt him. Although, he has an amazing talent for getting out of trouble even when facing serious charges.

What Was John McAfee Wanted For?

McAfee has been wanted by authorities multiple times. The most prominent case involves the murder of an American expatriate in Belize.

The U.S. Department of Justice asked authorities in Spain to hold McAfee for tax evasion.

He has also been accused of committing fraud by attempting to manipulate the value of cryptocurrencies.

Why Was John McAfee On The Run?

Some people would say that John McAfee was on the run because he didn’t want authorities in Belize to find him guilty of murder.

McAfee frames it differently, though. According to McAfee, he went on the run because he has always believed that the police would kill him.

He refused to participate in the investigation and fled Belize because he feared for his life.

How Did John McAfee Get Arrested?

The U.S. Justice Department claims that John McAfee failed to file tax returns from 2014 to 2018 despite earning millions of dollars as a consultant and cryptocurrency investor.

According to the government, McAfee had the money deposited to several bank accounts that were not in his name. He also received payments in cryptocurrencies without reporting it as income. Federal law identifies all forms of payment—including bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies—as taxable income.

Somehow, the Justice Department learned that McAfee was living in Spain. Prosecutors reached out to Spanish authorities, who agreed to arrest and hold McAfee for them.

As of mid-2021, McAfee faces charges of tax evasion and fraud. It’s unclear when Spain will extradite him to the U.S., where he will likely face multiple legal challenges.

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