Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee Page #3

in this recession.

It's been reported you were

worth about $100 million.

That may have been true.

Yet now you're

Less than ten.

Less than $10 million.

You bet.

You seem

so remarkably relaxed

for someone who's lost

about $90 million.

Well, yeah.

And why wouldn't I be?

The things we want

and the things we need

are two different things.

Are two different things.

Did it take you a while

to come to that realization?

Yeah, about 65 years.

Now, McAfee plans to take

his remaining handful

of millions

and head to Central America,

where he started

a new venture

to develop natural medicines.

I asked John

if he moved to Belize

because he lost

so much money.

He said, "Not at all,

I lost very little."

So I asked

if he transferred his money

to offshore accounts.

I was living

on the island of San Pedro.

Fishing and boating and having

a great old time.

But I was bored silly.

Hey, how you doing?

Lively music

He was living

in San Pedro.

He was living

in San Pedro.

And he called me one day

and tell me

he wants to go

to an archeological site.

Why don't I take you

to Lamanai?

And he said, "Lamanai?

Where is that?"

I said it's in

the Orange Walk District.

John was impressed

with what he saw.

He said, "I'd love to buy

some property here."

All right, get ready

for some serious

"Heart of Darkness" here.

Till eventually,

when I told him

about this piece that was

available, he settled on that.

He decided

he was gonna buy that.

So is that

a big deal in this area?

So is that

a big deal in this area?

To provide so many jobs?

Definitely, you know?

Because...

speaking Spanish

I was hearing about

what a good guy John was

from some of his old pals.

But then there were people

who were really afraid

to talk to me.

I know, more or less,

everything that happened.

I know, more or less,

everything that happened.

Mmhmm.

And I don't really

want to come out on TV.

But you're not saying

anything bad.

Yeah, but then he

won't like that.

He'll feel like I betray him.

Why?

'Cause he, like,

was very secretive,

and I don't want to.

He told me that he knows

everything going on

in the whole country

of Belize.

John moved us to

the mainland, to Orange Walk.

I finally had

a lab building built.

You know, so I just

I tried to keep my head down.

I tried to get back to work.

John would have

reporters come

John would have

reporters come

to view the lab.

And I said, "Look

you know, I have nothing."

These 22 acres,

on the banks

of what the Mayans once called

The River of Strange Faces,

are owned by McAfee.

So when I come back in a year,

this will look a lot different,

I would imagine.

Right, well, you'll see

shade cloth everywhere.

Mmhmm.

And hopefully

will be production

of some fairly unique

pharmaceuticals.

He was confused and upset

that I didn't have,

you know,

something more to show.

You know,

something more to show.

And so he would have me

just put, you know,

different colored dyes

in the bottles.

Or make up batches

of, you know,

what I had already researched.

And I said, you know,

"This feels dishonest."

And he said, "No, you know,

it's just business.

That's what we do.

We're just trying

to get investors,

and we wanna, you know,

get people's attention,

you know?

I promise you

it's gonna work out."

Ehh, yeah.

Ehh, yeah.

John was doing a lot

of press in Orange Walk.

I came across

several interviews,

including audio recordings

with print journalists.

I was the only

White man, the only foreigner

in the entire district

of Orange Walk,

which is 10,000 people,

and that covers

about 1/5 of the entire country

of Belize.

So it should have been

a warning sign to me

that I should have

walked more carefully

or acted less obtrusively.

Speaking Spanish

His attitude was changing

about paranoia, I think.

He was getting

a little paranoid.

Intense music

I start to see more

and more security people.

Like, a lot.

So he didn't mind

that you said

One day

I told him this, I said,

"John, why are you

surrounding yourself

with these people?

These people are gonna get you

into trouble."

And that's when he told me

the story, "These people,

nobody wants to hire them.

They're badass, they got

police record this long."

I said, "So you employ them

and put firearms

in their hand.

You think

that's gonna go right?

I think he really wanted to

create a sort

of a cult or a mystique

around himself

of a cult or a mystique

around himself

as a White man on the edge.

Like Colonel Kurtz.

And here he is

in the heart of darkness.

And did he travel

in town with a bunch of guys?

And did he travel

in town with a bunch of guys?

Like, how many guys?

Ooh, we had at least

12, 13 guys.

Is that normal

to have 12 security guards?

John got weirder

and weirder.

He would go on these rants.

He talked about taking over

the Belizean government.

He talked about taking over

the Belizean government.

He talked about his hit men,

and at this point

I was starting to believe it.

You said hit men.

Did you mean to say hit men

and not security guards?

Yes, he would

absolutely call them hit men.

He would talk about

his hit men,

he would talk about

how he could

have people hurt or killed.

And, um, you know,

honestly, I wasI was scared.

I planned to leave.

But I needed to figure out

how to do it, you know?

But I needed to figure out

how to do it, you know?

I went to talk to him.

I sat there on the couch

and I told him everything.

I said, "Look, I don't

I don't like what you're doing.

I am not getting anywhere

with my work.

I feel undermined.

And, um, you know,

I miss my family.

I wanna go home."

And, uh, you know,

I had a headache.

I was

I was crying so much.

I told him

I had a headache.

Andand he

Andand he

He brought me, um,

he, you know,

he went into the other room

andand he brought me

two pills and a glass

of orange juice.

And, um

So I took them,

Iyou know, and I

I took a sip

of the orange juice

and itit tasted foul.

It tasted bitter, um

I'm such an idiot.

II remember I made a joke

about not being able

to get good orange juice

in a place called Orange Walk.

To get good orange juice

in a place called Orange Walk.

Like, I honestly...

I only have, sort of,

flashes

of recollection.

He was standing over me,

naked.

And I woke up

the next morning

and I was sick.

I was dry heaving,

and I was dizzy.

I was dry heaving,

and I was dizzy.

And I grabbed my clothes.

I don't even remember

taking them off.

And, um, I went back

to my house.

And I locked myself

in my apartment.

And I, um

I sat in the shower.

I sat in the shower for

I don't know,

until the water ran cold.

And I was crying.

And I was bleeding.

Somehow I found the courage

to confront him.

John acted as if

nothing happened.

And I said, "I'm leaving.

I'd like to split

on fair terms

and if you could buy me out

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