As one of the most talked-about figures, John McAfee has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.
What was John McAfee's Net Worth?
John McAfee was an American technology entrepreneur who had a net worth of $4 million at the time of his death, though that estimate requires several caveats: At the peak of his software careerJohn McAfee had a net worth north of $100 million. It is known that he lost the vast majority of his software fortune due to bad investments and the 2008 global recession. In 2019, two years before his death, John claimed he could not afford to pay a court-ordered $25 million wrongful death lawsuit judgment. When he was arrested on tax evasion charges a year later, American Federal prosecutors claimed he had earned $11 million pumping and dumping various cryptocurrencies. John died on June 23, 2021 at the age of 75, reportedly by suicide. He did not leave a will or an estate plan. Two years after his death, his widow Janice was reportedly broke.
In 1997, McAfee Associates merged with the company Network General to form Network Associates. Seven years later, Network Associates was renamed McAfee, Inc. McAfee Inc. was bought by Intel in August 2010. It maintained its own branding separate from that of Intel until January 2014, when McAfee-related products began being marketed under the name Intel Security. In 2017, the unit formerly known as McAfee, Inc., was spun out of Intel in a joint venture between Intel and TPG Capital, called McAfee, LLC.
John David McAfee was born in Cinderford, England, on September 18, 1945, on a United States Army Base. His mother is British, and his father is an American soldier stationed there at the base. McAfee was raised in Salem, Virginia, in the United States. He has states that he feels just as British as he does America. His father was an abusive alcoholic, and committed suicide by gun when McAfee was fifteen years old. He attended college at Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia, and graduated in 1967 with a bachelor's degree in mathematics. The school later awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science (Sc.D.) degree in 2008.
It was while he was worked for Lockheed in the 1980s that McAfee began working on developing virus combating software. In particular, he began working on anti-virus software after receiving a copy of the Brain computer virus. In 1987, McAfee left his job to start his own computer anti-virus company, McAfee Associates. A few years later, in 1992, the company became incorporated in the state of Delaware. He remained with the company for two more years before resigning in 1994. Then, two years after McAfee associates went public, he got bored with the software business and sold his entire stake in the company for $100 million.
Throughout his life, McAfee was known for his eccentric behavior and controversial opinions. He was an outspoken libertarian and ran for the Libertarian Party's presidential nomination in 2016 and 2020. McAfee also faced legal issues, including allegations of tax evasion and involvement in a murder investigation in Belize, though he maintained his innocence. In his later years, McAfee became increasingly involved in the world of cryptocurrencies, promoting various projects and offering predictions about the future of digital currencies. He also continued to express his views on privacy, security, and government overreach. Despite the controversies surrounding his personal life, John McAfee's impact on the cybersecurity industry cannot be overstated. His pioneering work in antivirus software helped lay the foundation for the modern cybersecurity landscape, and his entrepreneurial spirit inspired countless others in the technology world.
After graduating from college, from 1968 to 1970 McAfee worked at NASA's Institute for Space Studies, located in New York City. He was a programmer for the program. After leaving NASA, he worked as a software designer at Univac, and then at Xerox as an operating system architect. In 1978, McAfee made the transition to consulting when he joined the Computer Sciences Corporation as a software consultant. Then, for two years from 1980 to 1982, he worked for the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.
John McAfee earned his initial $100 million peak net worth as the founder of McAfee Associates, which released the first commercial antivirus software, VirusScan. The company quickly became a leader in the cybersecurity industry, and McAfee's name became synonymous with antivirus protection. In 1994, McAfee resigned from the company and sold his remaining stake, citing a desire to pursue other interests. He went on to found and invest in various technology companies, including Tribal Voice, QuorumEx, and Future Tense Central.
In summary, the total wealth of John McAfee reflects strategic moves.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.
