John McAfee was a British-American computer programmer and businessman. He wrote the first anti-virus software and founded McAfee Associates. He was born on September 18, 1945.
That you all for your birthday wishes.
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) September 18, 2020
And hello from Spain. pic.twitter.com/1tSp6HHMVB
John McAfee Net Worth
During the peak of his career, John McAfee’s net worth was $100 million with his anti-virus company and software named after him. The security software company McAfee was founded in 1987 and was headquartered in San Jose, California. The company was acquired by Intel in 2010.
He resigned as the chief executive of McAfee in 1994. After this, he sold his stocks of the company. During the financial crisis of 2007 to 2008, McAfee’s net worth plummeted.
When he left McAfee, he established a number of companies like Tribal Voice, QuorumEx, and Future Tense Central. He also ventured in other industries like smartphone apps, light airsport craft, and cryptocurrency.
During the global crisis, McAfee sold his Colorado estate, Hawaii mansion, New Mexico ranch, and private jet.
Personal Life
McAfee was born on September 18, 1945, in Cinderford, Gloucestershire, England. He was born in the U.S. Army base to his American father, Don McAfee, who was stationed there, and Joan Williams, a British woman.
He was raised in Salem, Virginia in the United States. When he was 15, his father was described as an abusive alcoholic and killed himself with a gun. He stated that he was very scared of his father growing up.
McAfee attended Roanoke College in Virginia and in 1967, he received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics. In 2008, his alma mater awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree. He got his doctorate degree in mathematics from Northeast Louisiana State College but he was expelled in 1968, because he started a relationship with an undergraduate student who then became his first wife.
Professional Career
Before founding McAfee Associates, John worked as a programmer for the Apollo Project at NASA’s Institute for Space Studies in New York City from 1968 to 1970. He also worked at Univac as a software designer. Then, he was employed at Xerox as an operating system architect. He joined Computer Sciences Corporation as a software consultant in 1978.
In 1986, while working at Lockheed, he read about the Brain computer virus made for computers, and he found it frightening. This became his inspiration in creating an anti-virus software which he also saw as a business opportunity. McAfee founded McAfee Associates Inc. to sell this software, which he called “VirusScan.”
By 1990, he was making five million dollars a year as people were also scared of getting the malware on their computers. The company had its initial public offering in 1993. Around 1993 or 1994, he stepped down as chief executive but remained as the chief technical officer of the company.
Intel bought McAfee in 2010 and in 2014, Intel announced that McAfee products would be sold under Intel Security.
He faced tax evasion cases and was caught in Spain. He killed himself in prison while the process of him being extradited back to the US is still ongoing.
John McAfee Relationship History
McAfee’s first wife Judy McAfee and they were married until 2002. His second wife was Janice Dyson and they were married from 2003 to 2021 until John’s death.
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