The Kim Dotcom Story

Kim Dotcom is the founder of the large file-sharing resource Megaupload, a well-known hacker and entrepreneur. In 2012, he was arrested in New Zealand on suspicion of copyright infringement and extortion. In 2024, the United States succeeded in extraditing him. In the States, Dotcom may face a long prison term. We tell Kim's story in our article.

A difficult childhood

German-Finnish entrepreneur Kim Dotcom (born Schmitz) was born in 1974 in West Germany. His family was unfavorable. His mother, fleeing domestic violence and an alcoholic husband, decided to run away with Kim. They didn't always have enough food, and that's when Kim wanted to get rich when he grew up. At the age of 12, he got his first computer, and the world of IT really fascinated him. Kim became a hacker and took the pseudonym Kimble.

He once gave an interview to a journalist, revealing that he had falsified a politician's credit history. The police began to pursue him, and the hacker community turned away, condemning such publicity. But Kim's illegal activities continued to bring in money.

Interestingly, the phone companies wanted to find Kim not to demand his arrest, but to ask how exactly he was stealing their data so successfully. Ironically, at 20, Kim founded a data protection company, and a little later another one, Kimvestor.

Luxurious life

By the age of 30, Kim was already a millionaire, living a luxurious life, buying houses, yachts and cars. In 2005, the entrepreneur changed his last name, becoming Dotcom instead of Schmitz. At the same time, Kim launched the online service Megaupload.

It was a convenient file-sharing service that quickly gained popularity among users all over the world. Every day, about 50 million people visited it.

But this service has caused claims from copyright holders. In 2010, the businessman decided to move to New Zealand, fearing problems with the law. For a long time, Megaupload occupied the 13th place in the ranking of the most visited platforms in the world.

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Megaupload was shut down on January 19, 2012 by the US Department of Justice, and Dotcom and his company's employees were arrested in New Zealand. However, they were later released on bail.

The copyright holders estimated their damages at $500 million. Kim said he could not be held responsible for users who uploaded copyrighted content to the online storage.

“It is absolutely clear that a knife manufacturer should not be held responsible for those who use them to harm others,” celebrated he is in an interview.

In 2013, Kim relaunched the service, calling it Mega. Dotcom also said that copyright holders could send requests to remove content. But two years later, he announced that he no longer had anything to do with Mega. And a little later, the now former millionaire declared bankruptcy. In 2017, a film was even made called Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Net.

In August 2024, the New Zealand court decided extradite Dotcom to the United States, where he was charged with 13 counts. The legal battle with the New Zealand authorities lasted more than twelve years.

— The irony is that by calling me a pirate, the American government itself is stealing everyone's personal data. They are monitoring all your messages, emails, text messages, — spoke Kim in an interview. Well, the pirate's adventures continue.

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