Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee Page #2

that I don't even know

You know, it's hard to know

where to start.

I wanted to start

with John's past.

In emails he was evasive.

But I managed to dig up

some of his records.

He was born in England,

and grew up

an only child in Virginia.

According to John, his father

was an abusive alcoholic

and committed suicide

when John was young.

Eventually, John graduated

college and became

Eventually, John graduated

college and became

a computer engineer.

In the 1980s, he tried his luck

in Silicon Valley.

McAfee, may I help you?

Speaking.

It's one of those

strange days.

His first efforts with

antivirus were in late '86.

And, uh, he was

always playing

with different kinds of code.

There was this new problem

with computers,

that was ayour computer

could catch a cold.

Okay, there it goes.

In Budapest, uh,

we have a hospital

that lost 25 systems.

Uh, including

all patient recordshello?

When John came up

with antiviral software,

90 % of the people

that were running computers

weren't even aware of viruses.

And then viruses started

getting names.

It's called Michelangelo.

It's called Michelangelo.

It's a lowdown work

of sabotage

that could wreck millions

of computer programs

around the world.

What is a computer virus?

A computer virus, Bryant,

is a program

written by a hacker.

Any computer that it's in,

it activates

and destroys all of the data

in those systems.

John showed his first

signs of savvy,

working with the media.

Able to articulate

a scary story.

This doomsday virus

was about to hit.

The entire research

community agrees,

this is the number one virus.

It is the number one

computer threat.

It's real,

and it's going to happen

on the 6th of March.

The Michelangelo Virus

caused many people

around the world

to download

antivirus software

for the first time.

That's how the money

just started rolling in.

By 1993, McAfee controlled

67 % of the desktop

antivirus market.

They only had about

20 employees.

Do not stand in doorways.

Stand against

But there were already,

like, $14 million in revenue.

They were printing money.

Excuse me.

It still was a group

of John's original friends

and family that worked there.

A lot of them didn't have

careers before.

Excuse me.

Gretzky, Tech Support.

John had more, like,

a cult style.

And people would not go home

for two and three days.

They would sleep

under their desk

They would sleep

under their desk

to make sure John was happy

with the work they were doing.

Okay, what you need to do

in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file

It was a crazy culture,

that's for sure.

Three of the women

were supposedly witches,

and they would sit

in the conference room

and have, like,

a little chant.

Andrea Nation would come in

in the morning

with a bottle of Windex

and clean off

Bill Larson's desk.

Because there was

a sex contest going on.

Because there was

a sex contest going on.

You'd get points.

They had a group called

Little Foxes,

where they, um,

would give points

for, uh, having sex

in different spots

of the office.

John being this free spirit,

that made the culture

of the company.

He wasn't the typical

suit and tie guy.

The investors wanted

to take the company

to the next level.

To the next level.

And that was definitely not

John's forte.

They felt like John

couldn't do that

and I think that John

didn't want to do it, either.

They bought John out.

They bought his shares out.

He sensed the virus threat

in a way

that most people didn't.

He seemed brilliant

but also paranoid.

He is more sensitive

than, maybe,

the average person

than, maybe,

the average person

to potential threats.

My wife thought it

a little funny

when he came next door,

looking for his wife Judy,

who was over visiting

with us,

'cause he wasn't home yet.

And he shows up,

and heand so,

I let him in the house

and he's got

a gun in his back pocket.

And I says

Susan said,

you know, uh,

"Is that a gun in your pocket,

or are you just happy

to see me?"

You know?

And, you know, he just,

"Oh, well, you know,

it's dark out, there's no street

lights on this street.

You never know."

But they were making

quite a bit of money then.

But they were making

quite a bit of money then.

And maybe somebody

kidnapped his wife.

So he came over to see

if we'd seen her.

Is that paranoid?

I don't know.

Pensive music

After earning millions

in Silicon Valley,

John did not retire.

He created social network

ventures

like Tribal Voice

and PowWow.

But they didn't take off.

But they didn't take off.

Then in 2000, he exited

the business world completely.

He bought 280 acres

of land in Colorado

and opened a yoga

and meditation center.

I've been doing yoga

and meditation for 35 years.

Given the life that I lead

and I admit,

I lead life on the edge.

I have to do something.

So I believe in yoga.

Yoga will extend your life,

and it'll also give you a clear

perspective of yourself.

And it'll also give you a clear

perspective of yourself.

I asked John

how he got involved in yoga.

After he opened

his yoga center,

he began inviting people

to stay there.

Got up there, and there's

this beautiful house.

These stunning yoga studios

and probably space

for about 25 people to sleep.

Massive grounds and literally

like his own forest.

Massive grounds and literally

like his own forest.

It was kind of too big

to even get my head around,

this massive place

that one guy owned.

And he'd let you

stay there for free.

Pain is nothing more

than a powerful sensation,

is it not?

I mean, it'sit's your body

talking to you

like your body talks to you

when you get a massage

or when you're

sexually aroused.

Yeah, there was

rumors in town

it was a cult

that he had up there,

up in the hills.

Up in the hills.

He always had

an entourage,

like, a tribe,

which was beautiful.

What is this thing

that you want

to make immortal?

Because to live is to die

simultaneously.

I truly believe

he washe was enlightened.

He washe was a guru.

He'd written five books

on the yoga process.

They're really good.

They're really good.

Later, I remember

him saying

that they were all sh*t.

He was insinuating that he

wasn't into that stuff anymore.

You know, there was

a definite shift in personality.

He was a different

I mean, you could

he was still John.

You know,

but he was not

he just wasn't

a gurutype anymore.

He didn't have

he wasn't enlightened.

The next time I saw him,

I'm like, "Okay."

The next time I saw him,

I'm like, "Okay."

In this recession,

the average American

is certainly pinching

every penny.

But the man you are

about to meet

is one of the biggest losers.

It's staggering, really.

Good morning,

ladies and gentlemen.

Welcome to the estate

of John McAfee.

Welcome to the estate

of John McAfee.

On Saturday, auctioneers

worked up bids

for the rarified retreat

of a wealthy man

who's taken it on the chin

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes