Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee

This is 18, 10‐81.

No, sir.

No, sir.

How much money do you have in here?

‐ Maybe $4,000. ‐ $4,000?

Yes, sir.

‐ The FBI? ‐ Precisely.

The name McAfee reminds me

The name McAfee reminds me

of my very first laptop.

Like most PCs in the '90s,

it had McAfee antivirus software pre‐installed.

Software security guru John McAfee,

he made millions as one of the nation's

first big software pioneers.

I didn't think about that name again until 2012,

when John McAfee was all over the news.

John McAfee, whose name was synonymous with security,

is now becoming synonymous with the mysterious murder

of McAfee's neighbor, Greg Faull.

of McAfee's neighbor, Greg Faull.

I read about John's bizarre lifestyle in Belize,

including being wanted for questioning in a homicide

and going on the run.

A murder in paradise,

as police launch a full‐scale search

for an eccentric American tycoon, John McAfee.

2016, just a few years later,

John was again in the news,

this time, he was running for President of the United States.

Antivirus software industry pioneer John McAfee,

throwing his hat into the 2016 presidential ring.

throwing his hat into the 2016 presidential ring.

What has created terrorism?

Our interference in the affairs of foreign states.

Dropping bombs on families.

And talking about

some of the most significant

cybersecurity issues of our time.

But no one was talking about his past.

You are an expert, and I know you're brilliant

when it comes to matters of security.

We are in the first cyber war.

You said that you could unlock

the San Bernardino terrorists' phones for the FBI.

How did John McAfee reinvent himself?

Are there different rules

Are there different rules

for people with money, power, and fame?

Or is John just a master manipulator?

The last 15 years, I've been making documentaries

on complex and controversial celebrities.

I've been fascinated with how being famous

can put you under a cruel spotlight.

But it can also allow for extraordinary privileges.

Like the ability to get away with things.

Was this the case with John McAfee?

John, where are you going?

John, where are you going?

To jail.

What really happened in Belize?

When I started the film,

I reached out to John.

He refused to do an interview.

But he repeatedly emailed me.

He would say, "Do not contact me again."

He would say, "Do not contact me again."

And then email me five seconds later.

He said...

Even though he refused to be interviewed.

It started a strange, year‐long cyber relationship.

In the meantime, I investigated his story in Belize.

John moved to San Pedro, Belize, in 2008

and he bought a beautiful beachside property.

and he bought a beautiful beachside property.

Buenas tardes.

Just look out there, you'll see why.

The most beautiful water in the world.

An off‐shore reef that lets me

build a house right on the beach.

Can't do that in Florida.

How would you describe this island, San Pedro?

How would I describe my island?

‐ Yeah. ‐ Well, it's a beautiful island.

‐ Yeah. ‐ Well, it's a beautiful island.

It's the most beautiful island in this country.

We've got 42 dive sites from here

within a three‐mile radius.

It's great. It's fantastic.

And everybody speaks English.

And, I mean, how many Americans like English?

This is a major destination

for people to try to run away

from the United States.

from the United States.

Approximately every four, six months,

U. S. Marshals will come down.

They already know where everybody is.

They'll go through the island and just make a sweep.

There's expats here that really like to

immerse themselves with the local culture.

And the, you know, the local culture

loves a rich man, you know?

Everybody knew John McAfee.

When he first came into the country,

he was very friendly.

he was very friendly.

I really thought he was a very nice person.

He bought prime property.

He used to bring his friends from the States.

We are getting a lot of tourists because of him.

John started donating things

to the police department.

Very generous.

Extremely generous.

He told us, "Guys, anything, you need help,

my doors are open."

my doors are open."

He donated a considerable amount

of equipment to police.

Boots, stun guns, different assortment of weapons.

I recall, when he get his residence card here,

he gave the government of Belize a $1 million boat.

And that made the news here.

Why this donation to the Coast Guard?

I've just become a permanent resident of Belize,

I've just become a permanent resident of Belize,

and I'm very grateful that the country of Belize

allowed me to live here permanently.

And I wanted to give something back.

You have to wonder,

if you're giving donations to the police,

is it out of the goodness of your heart?

Or are there some motives behind it?

You know, why didn't you build that library, or‐‐

You know?

The schools always need another classroom.

There's a lot of different ways

There's a lot of different ways

you can be generous with your money.

Entrepreneur John McAfee is still doing

what comes naturally:

starting new businesses.

This is an entrepreneur's paradise, here.

There are virtually no regulations on business.

McAfee started a ferry service.

He's also cultivating jungle plants

that he hopes will be the building blocks

for medicines of the future.

I was doing my postdoc, I was at Harvard,

but I always heard about Belize.

Just how amazing the jungles were

and the local healers.

Decided to go to Belize and just see

what it was all about, you know?

But anyway, we'll talk about that, then.

I ended up meeting John McAfee.

Yeah, I didn't know him from Adam,

but I told him about my research,

and he seemed engaged.

He seemed interested,

and within, you know, minutes of conversation,

and within, you know, minutes of conversation,

he offered me my dream job.

He said, "You can continue your research,

and we'll make a business out of it."

And I thought, "Oh, my God."

I mean, this is‐‐ this is it.

This is, like, my big break.

There was not a space for the lab,

and he had me stay with him,

um, which made me very uncomfortable.

I saw a lot of stuff when I was living in his place.

He had armed guards.

I'm not a huge fan of guns.

Um, he had meetings

with people that were also armed.

with people that were also armed.

Um‐‐

At one point he said that he was working on a book

with two heavily armed,

very built men from the Ukraine.

I mean, I don't know, this is probably not relevant.

‐ I'm sorry, this is‐‐ ‐ That's okay.

This is the tangent that I told you I would go on.

Yeah, that's okay. That's part of interviewing.

‐ It's just, there's‐‐ ‐ There's a lot

of tangents. People‐‐we all do it.

Oh, fuck, there's just‐‐ there's so much crazy shit.

There's so much crazy shit

that I don't even know‐‐

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.