John McAfee broke after $100m spree

An author has claimed that the late John McAfee was broke when he died in prison after blowing his $US100 million ($A135 million) fortune on “bizarre” mansions.

Mark Eglinton, who collaborated with the tech pioneer on a book for six months while he was on the run, believed McAfee was penniless at the time of his passing – citing evidence from a series of exclusive interviews.

Speaking to the MailOnline, Eglinton said that McAfee was unable to pay what he requested for the planned collaboration book – which is set to be released next month.

“I don’t doubt that if he could have helped he would have,” Eglinton said of the advance fee he requested.

“He said, ‘I can’t do it, my financial situation is worse than yours.’”

The author claimed he interviewed McAfee for countless hours on Skype while he was on the run when he was fearing a pending US indictment on charges of tax evasion.

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McAfee was finally arrested last October and was facing extradition before his suspected suicide in his jail cell near Barcelona in June.

But, before falling into his perilous position, McAfee’s peak net worth was estimated at about $US100 million ($A135 million).

Eglinton now suggested that McAfee lost his fortune on the property market after he revealed to the author “where he spent his money over the years”.

Eglinton said: “He had his money in very safe investments, but he built houses, absolutely bizarre properties.

“Some of them, he never slept a night in the property.”

McAfee owned, at various points, large mansions and compounds in Belize, Texas, Colorado, Hawaii and Tennessee, among other locations.

McAfee’s compound in Woodland Park, Colorado, was valued at more than $US25 million ($A34 million), but it sold at auction for a mere $US5.72 million ($A7.74 million) in 2007.

However, Eglinton revealed that the 75-year-old’s greatest loss was the $US100 million ($A135 million) sale of McAfee Associates, a computer antivirus company which he founded in 1987.

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Eglinton said McAfee told him: “The $100 million I got out of McAfee [Antivirus], that goes very quickly.”

Their collaboration on the book, titled No Domain: The John McAfee Tapes eventually fell through as McAfee insisted that the publisher pay him in cryptocurrency, according to Eglinton.

During his later life the tech guru had became a cryptocurrency investor in which he spoke at news conferences and touting different services.

However, his work quickly dried up and as he later faced prosecution after publicly touting cryptocurrency offerings and digital tokens that were later sold once prices rose on the promotions.

In one of his final tweets, McAfee wrote: ‘The US believes I have hidden crypto.

“I wish I did but it has dissolved through the many hands of Team McAfee, and my remaining assets are all seized.

“My friends evaporated through fear of association. I have nothing. Yet, I regret nothing.”
 

McAfee’s latest revelations comes just days after his wife refused to believe the tech titan committed suicide in a Spanish prison last month – remaining sceptical of the apparent suicide note found in his pocket.

Janice previously tweeted: “There has been no since [sic] of urgency from the various Spanish authorities involved in the investigation into John’s death and there is clearly cover-up happening here concerning the events surrounding his death.

“We have not received the death certificate, the official autopsy report or the official report from the prison.

“I understand that things take time but the lack of co-operation from the Spanish authorities only confirms our suspicions that they have something to hide.”

The article was first published on The Sun and is reproduced here with permission