John McAfee's legacy: Tech maverick, eccentric businessman, fugitive

A Spanish court had approved his extradition to the United States to face charges of tax evasion.

John McAfee, the tech genius whose eponymous antivirus software was used widely in the 1980s and early 1990s, died in Barcelona jail cell on Wednesday.

The 75 years-old was found dead after a Spanish court approved his extradition to the United States to face charges of tax evasion from 2014-2018, reported Bloomberg.

A larger than life personality of McAfee and his run-ins with law inspired numerous projects surrounding his life. He was born in the United Kingdom in the mid-1940s, and moved to Roanoke, Virginia, when he was young.

He moved to Silicon Valley in the 1970s and worked in numerous tech companies as a coder all the while abusing drugs and alcohol until 1983 when he became sober, reported BBC.

He started McAfee Associates in 1987, when computers were relatively new and the first computer virus hit computers. He resolved the issue, started McAfee Associates and helped to spark a multi-billion dollar industry in the computer world. He resigned from McAfee in 1994 and was eventually sold to technology giant Intel for more than $7.6 bn in 2011, reported Business Insider.

In 2008, McAfee moved to a jungle in Belize with the stated intention of trying to cure infection and dabbled in herbal antibiotics. He started a company called Quorumex that planned to build plant based products to combat illnesses. In 2012,he was named ‘person of interest’ by by Belize authorities in the murder of his neighbour. He fled after being questioned by authorities, said BBC.

McAfee was arrested in Guatemala on charges of illegal entry to the country. He suffered a series of heart-related health issues while being detained and was sent to the US, reported Esquire.

In 2015, he filed paperwork to run in the 2016 presidential race and announced he would form his own political party, ‘The Cyber Party’. McAfee took his campaign to the Libertarian Party National Convention, but failed to secure the nomination, reported US Today.

Later, he was appointed chairman and CEO of tech company MGT Technologies.He was arrested in Spain in October 2020, at the behest of the United States government. He was accused of failing to file tax returns, even though he made millions from consulting work, cryptocurrencies, speaking engagements, and selling his life rights, reported US Today.

McAfee is survive by his wife, Janice McAfee