Net Worth Ranker
What Is John McAfee Net Worth
At the time of his death on June 23, 2021, John McAfee’s net worth was estimated to be around $4 million. However, this figure is somewhat misleading and requires several important caveats. While he once possessed a fortune exceeding $100 million, primarily earned from his pioneering work in antivirus software, a series of unfortunate financial decisions and the global recession of 2008 significantly eroded his wealth.
The Rise and Fall of a Fortune
John McAfee’s initial wealth accumulation stemmed from the immense success of McAfee Associates, the company he founded in 1987. McAfee Associates was the first company to commercially distribute anti-virus software, named VirusScan. As computer viruses became more prevalent, McAfee’s software became a necessity for both businesses and home users. This meteoric rise transformed McAfee into a cybersecurity leader, synonymous with digital protection. By 1994, McAfee had grown weary of the company he created. He resigned from McAfee Associates and sold his remaining stake in the company for $100 million.
Had McAfee held onto his stake until 2010, when Intel acquired McAfee, Inc. for $7.7 billion, his net worth would have likely exceeded $1 billion or more, counting dividends and other compensation. He was a multi-millionaire in the mid-1990s when he decided to liquidate his position. Unfortunately, McAfee’s financial acumen did not match his technological prowess. A series of ill-fated investments, most notably a substantial investment in Lehman Brothers bonds, led to significant financial losses. He sold off assets at a significant loss. For example, McAfee sold a $25 million Colorado estate for just $5.7 million. He sold a mansion in Hawaii, a ranch in New Mexico and a Cessna private jet.
By 2009, following the 2008 financial crisis, his estimated net worth was around $4 million. A 2019 court case where McAfee stated he could not afford the $25 million judgment suggests his financial state had deteriorated further. The $11 million in earnings from cryptocurrency pump and dump schemes, alleged by federal prosecutors at the time of his 2020 arrest for tax evasion, could have been an overestimation.
Life and Career
Born on September 18, 1945, at a United States Army Base in Cinderford, England, John David McAfee was the son of a British mother and an American soldier father. He was raised in Salem, Virginia. McAfee attended Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1967. In 2008, the college awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree. From 1968 to 1970, McAfee worked as a programmer at NASA’s Institute for Space Studies in New York City. After leaving NASA, he worked as a software designer at Univac and then at Xerox as an operating system architect. In 1978, McAfee joined the Computer Sciences Corporation as a software consultant, and from 1980 to 1982, he worked for Booz Allen Hamilton.
While working for Lockheed in the 1980s, McAfee began developing anti-virus software after receiving a copy of the Brain computer virus. He launched McAfee Associates in 1987, incorporating it in Delaware in 1992. He resigned in 1994, selling his stake two years later for $100 million. In 1997, McAfee Associates merged with Network General to form Network Associates, which was later renamed McAfee, Inc. In August 2010, Intel acquired McAfee Inc., maintaining its branding until January 2014, when McAfee-related products were marketed as Intel Security. In 2017, the unit was spun out of Intel in a joint venture between Intel and TPG Capital, called McAfee, LLC.
Legal Troubles and Personal Life
In April 2012, McAfee’s property in Orange Walk Town, Belize, was raided by the Belizean Police Department’s Gang Suppression Unit. He was arrested for unlicensed drug manufacturing and possession of an unlicensed weapon but was later released without charge. In November 2012, Belizean police investigated McAfee as a person of interest in the murder of his neighbor, Gregory Viant Faull, who was found dead from a gunshot wound. McAfee fled Belize and sought asylum in Guatemala City, Guatemala, but was arrested on December 5, 2012, for illegally entering Guatemala. His asylum request was denied, and he was deported to the United States on December 6, 2012, after reportedly faking heart attacks to buy time for his attorney to file an appeal.
In August 2015, McAfee was arrested in Tennessee for driving under the influence and possession of a firearm while intoxicated. In November 2018, a wrongful death lawsuit for Faull’s death was not dismissed by the Circuit Court in Orlando, Florida. In early 2019, another suit was brought against him, and a Grand Jury convened to indict him on tax-related charges. He announced in January 2019 that he was running from U.S. authorities and living on a boat. In July 2019, he was arrested in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and released after four days. In October 2020, John was arrested in Spain at the request of the U.S. Department of Justice for tax evasion. On June 23, 2021, the Spanish government approved his extradition to the United States. Later that day, he died by suicide at the age of 75. In 2013, McAfee married Janice Dyson, a former sex worker he met in South Beach, Miami, after his deportation from Guatemala in December 2012.
