shut down . Since then, he has been
fighting
extradition to the US to
stand trial . He could go to jail for 60 years.
Kim Dotcom isn’t his real name. He was
born in Germany as Kim Schmitz, but
changed his surname to Dotcom in
2005. In his teens,
he was known as
“Germany’s Most
Notorious Hacker ”.
And he used his
computer skills
to make millions
as a computer
consultant. In 1998, Kim was arrested
for hacking into bank computers and
stealing credit card numbers. And in
2002, he was arrested again – this time for
embezzlement and
insider trading .
In 2005, Kim launched Megaupload.com.
The site let users store and share digital
files and within a few years it was getting
50 million hits daily. At one point
Megaupload.com was even responsible
for 4% of all internet traffic. And it made
Kim even richer – in 2010 he earned
€86,000 a day, mostly from
advertising !
So, what did Kim do
with all his money?
Have fun! He once
said, “I’m a fun-loving
guy. I enjoy my life. I
have a big kid inside
me.” In 2001,
he spent
€7.5 million
on a “crazy
weekend”
in Monaco.
He rented
a luxury
yacht,
bought lots of champagne and hired
models to
hang out with him and his
friends. He owns eighteen luxury cars,
with
license plates such as GOD, EVIL,
MAFIA and GUILTY. Plus he lives in the most
expensive house in New Zealand and has
the largest TV in the country in his bedroom.
But Kim is also a
smart entrepreneur.
His weekend in Monaco was actually a
publicity stunt to show the world that
he was rich and successful. At the time, he
was starting a new business and the party
was designed to attract
