How Much Was John McAfee Worth At The Time Of His Death?

Software genius John McAfee was found dead in his Barcelona jail cell on June 23 after being held for tax evasion, according to Reuters. 

The entrepreneur is best known for creating McAfee Associates, the anti-virus software company, in 1987. Despite the contribution to technology and model for the future of software, McAfee's life story was tainted by countless legal troubles that eventually led him to Spain, where he was arrested in October 2020 for "failing to file tax returns for four years, despite earning millions from consulting work, speaking engagements, crypto-currencies and selling the rights to his life story," according to the BBC. In addition, the tech entrepreneur was also allegedly hiding assets from the U.S. government. The Spanish National Court had agreed to extradite McAfee to the U.S. on the tax evasion charges, but just hours later, McAfee was found dead in his cell. The Spanish Justice Department released a statement following the death, claiming "everything indicates" death by suicide.

McAfee's legal troubles seem to have begun around the time the anti-virus software creator stepped down from his company, which eventually cost him millions.

John McAfee is credited with beginning what is now a billion-dollar industry with his creation of McAfee Associates, the anti-virus software. Yet, at the time of his death, the tech genius was worth just $4 million thanks to a series of investments gone wrong, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Just seven years after the creation of McAfee's software company, the creator stepped down from his role and sold his shares for $100 million, per Celebrity Net Worth. The 1994 decision turned out to be a bad investment on McAfee's part, as the software company grew so big it was bought by Intel in 2010 for $7.7 billion. In the meantime, with $100 million in his own pocket, it seemed like McAfee was set — until the 2008 recession.

The global recession forced McAfee into losing multiple of his properties and fortune, dwindling his net worth to just $4 million. Celebrity Net Worth reports the software creator even sold one of his homes in Colorado for $5.7 million (it was worth about $25 million). McAfee fled to Belize but ended up in a trail of legal issues that led him to escape to Guatemala then Spain where he would be arrested for tax evasion.