Computer pioneer John McAfee was actually broke when he died in a Spanish prison after blowing his $100 million fortune, a biographer has said.
The anti-virus creator reportedly took his own life last month in a Barcelona jail after the Spanish high court allowed his extradition to the United States to face charges of tax evasion and willfully failing to file tax returns for money he made.
The charges have led to rumours that McAfee had money he was hiding from the authorities, although author Mark Eglinton, who collaborated with McAfee on a book for six months while he was on the run, told the Daily Mail that he believes McAfee was indeed penniless.
He says McAfee was unable to pay what he requested for the book, which will now be authored by Eglinton solely.
Mr Eglington siad: "I don't doubt that if he could have helped he would have.
"He said, 'I can't do it, my financial situation is worse than yours.'"
Terrible business decisions from the mid-90s to the financial crash in 2008 meant his net worth dwindled from $100 million (£72m) to just $4 million (£2.9m), blaming the collapse on poor real estate investments.
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Throughout his lifetime he owned mansions and compounds in Belize, Texas, Colorado, Hawaii and Tennessee, among other locations.
But apparently, McAfee had several properties he "never slept a night in", while he is known to have made huge losses on some of his property investments.
Mr Eglington added: "We got a lot into where he spent his money over the years.
"He had his money in very safe investments, but he built houses, absolutely bizarre properties.
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"Some of them, he never slept a night in the property."
McAfee's widow Janice recently declared she doesn't believe he took his own life.
She's also questioned whether McAfee's apparent suicide note was actually written by him.
Casting doubt on its legitimacy, she wrote: "Here is the alleged suicide note found in John's pocket. This note does not sound anything like someone who has no hope and is contemplating ending their life.
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"This note sounds like one of John's tweets."
McAfee's Instagram mysteriously shared the letter "Q" after news broke of his death in prison.
Within half an hour of his alleged suicide being reported, his now deleted social media account sent several of his 60,000 followers into a baffled frenzy.
The bizarre "Q" upload has been interpreted by some to represent a far-right conspiracy theory known as QAnon.
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email [email protected], visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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