This Shocking Documentary About Controversial Tech Mogul is Now Free to Stream
Few people have fallen from grace as drastically as the late John McAfee. He once held the world in the palm of his hand. But his deteriorating mental health, flashy lifestyle, and propensity for violence ultimately led to his undoing. The documentary, Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee chronicles his rise to prominence and subsequent descent into chaos.
What makes John McAfee fascinating to me is the idea that he once seemed like nothing more than your run-of-the-mill tech mogul. Not at all dissimilar from Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates. But unlike his contemporaries, he was never content to settle into the good life and live off his laurels. McAfee was a troubled free spirit with a desperate need for cheap thrills. And that eventually became his undoing.
Director Nanette Burstein (Killer Sally) presents a clear picture of who McAfee was and avoids focusing solely on the more sensational aspects of his story. Though there aren’t many people with fond memories of the man, we do learn that he was beloved by some of the locals in Belize and that he was actually known to be fairly benevolent. Anyone that followed the headlines regarding his legal troubles likely has ideas about who John McAfee was. But this documentary provides a more in-depth picture of the troubled businessman and his violent legacy.
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The documentary profiles those that worked alongside MacAfee during his meteoric rise to prominence and all the way through to his eventual arrest. Those weighing in have some shocking stories to tell. We hear all about problematic workplace policies that rewarded employees for fornicating in the office; his stint as a yoga guru; his move to Belize; his foray into plant-based medicine; the origins of his deep-seated paranoia; his fixation with scatophilia; and his eventual life on the lam.
It’s not hard to see why McAfee so frequently made headlines. He lived large and seemed to enjoy being flashy. Hell, he had a security team (of at least twelve) that oversaw his compound in Belize. And they were decked out in full camouflage, as if they were affiliated with the military. He would put his security force to work as if they were actual law enforcement officers; they would go out and apply muscle as the mercurial millionaire saw fit. He also had designs on overthrowing the government and even went so far as to instruct his security to seek out and apprehend people with whom he had issues. Additionally, there are reports that McAfee had actual police officers on his payroll that would do his bidding and keep him out of trouble.
If McAfee had simply kept a low profile, he likely wouldn’t have needed the security detail. But he was prone to showing off and that quickly got him noticed by the wrong people. His flamboyance made him the target of unsavory types with sinister designs. Accordingly, his cavalier lifestyle and ever-present sense of paranoia would eventually lead to his dramatic downfall.
Adding to the challenges created by his paranoia and flashy way of life, McAfee may have also lost a certain amount of perspective as he became increasingly detached from reality. We see that a lot with the ultra-wealthy. They don’t have anyone in their orbit that will stand up to them or tell them ‘No’. We’ve seen a similar phenomenon with Twitter in the time since the social media platform was acquired by an unhinged billionaire. When one has more money than common sense and surrounds themself with people that are afraid of their temperament, they create an echo chamber that makes it easy to lose touch with the real world.
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As McAfee continued to lose touch, he became more and more volatile. It seems that the dissolution of his business relationship with Allison Adonizio may have been a turning point. After working with him to develop plant-based medications, she became increasingly disenchanted with his antics. Fearing what the future held, she turned in her resignation and asked him to buy her out. She says, however, that rather than acquiescing to her request and severing ties, he drugged her and sexually assaulted her. That act of violence may have marked the beginning of the end for McAfee. His behavior only got more violent and more erratic from there. Not long after that, he became embroiled in a murder plot, fled Belize, and then proceeded to run for public office in the states.
All things considered, Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee is a fascinating portrait of the troubled tech mogul. It’s a difficult watch buts it’s well-worth checking out for anyone riveted by true crime. If you’re curious to check the film out for yourself, you can find it streaming on Showtime as of the publication of this post.
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