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Kim Dotcom

The multi-millionaire founder of Megaupload

Kimdotcomm.jpg

Summary

Kim Schmitz, aka Kimble, aka Kim Dotcom, aka Kim Tim Jim Vestoraka, aka Dr. Evil or any other weird alias he goes by, is the founder of Megaupload and its sister sites MegaPorn, MegaVideo, MegaLive, and MegaPix (apparently he's got some weird fixation for the word Mega). Before his arrest, Kim lived a very lavish lifestyle as a successful Internet entrepreneur, all to the expense of many whose content is pirated.

On January 20, 2012, he was arrested under charges of hacking, criminal copyright infringement, conspiracy and embezzlement in New Zealand. Following his arrest, Dotcom has became an Internet rights activists, seeking to fight down the tyrants who try to take away the many freedoms of the Internet, some even comparing him to Rosa Parks. He also vows that Megaupload will return, hopefully within the year 2012.

Origins

Dotcom was born on January 21, 1974 in Kiel, West Germany. Before he became an entrepreneur, Dotcom was a well-known hacker. In his earlier days, Kim was no stranger to arrests as he had quite the record. He's been arrested a countless amount of times for hacking and insider trading.

Rise to fame

BRB, FBI

In early 2005, Kim Dotcom founded Megaupload Ltd, whose flagship service, Megaupload, a cyber locker that competed with sites like Rapidshare, ultimately became one of the most visited websites in the world. Megaupload proved to be less of a hassle and was a haven for users to pirate or share movies, games, software, etc. Soon, Dotcom decided to venture further by opening sites such as MegaPorn, MegaVideo, MegaLive, MegaPix, and anything else that dealt with sharing something with the name "Mega" in it.

Given his success with Megaupload, Kim Dotcom was living lavishly and making millions as film studios were losing money. It was because of this he was loved by those who didn't want to pay for media content and despised by those who created media alike. He was hardly known until after his services were closed down by the Feds. Since his arrest, Kim's name had become a household name, trending all around the Internet. Coincidentally, Kim's house was raided by the police and he was arrested just after U.S. Congress abandoned two antipiracy bills, SOPA and PIPA.

Current status

Megaupload was shut down by the feds, angering many, including Anonymous. As for Kim Dotcom, his site's closure by the FBI followed an arrest, along with Bram van der Kolk, Finn Batato and Mathias Ortmann, in New Zealand. All charges on Mr. Dotcom are from Megaupload and it has been alleged that the file sharing site has generated $175 million USD from illegal activities. Dotcom remained in custody until February 22, 2012. Dotcom was released on bail and March 1, 2012 and shortly did an interview for the first time after his arrest for New Zealand media.

Dotcom announcing his service, Megabox.

On June 28, 2012, New Zealand High Court Justice Helen Winkelmann declared that raiding Dotcom's mansion, seizing his computer hard drives was not only a bad move, but illegal as well. Winkelmann also declared that the hard drives clones were not allowed to leave New Zealand which were retrieved by the FBI. In order to justify their raid, the FBI stated that they believed that Dotcom had an emergency "doomsday device" which could wipe away any evidence supporting that Megaupload's piracy.

As for Dotcom, he and his accused friends are currently free on bail and his extradition hearing been pushed back to March 2013. Not only that, but on his Twitter, he hinted to Megaupload's long-awaited return. In addition, he also introduced a new service, titled Megabox", a “disruptive” music service set to launch in late 2012 which hopes to let artists sell their music and keep 90% of the profit.

Famous Quote

 
 
What people uploaded and downloaded in their storage areas was up to them. One person's licensed music MP3 file is potentially another person's infringing file,
 

 



Facts

  • He legally changed his name to Kim Dotcom in 2008
  • He is vastly hated by film studios and television networks
  • Speaking of which, he's made millions from their content
  • Weighs over 300 lbs
  • He was arrested on his birthday
  • He owned at least 18 luxury cars
  • He lives in New Zealand and Hong Kong
  • Stands at 6'7"
  • Dotcom's 25,000-sq.-ft mansion is one of the most expensive properties in New Zealand
  • Before his arrest, he ranked as the world's No. 1 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 player
  • He lost 35 lbs in jail
  • He can't sit on cheap lawn chairs without breaking them into pieces (literally)
  • He has a wife, Mona Verga Dotcom, and has 5 children
  • A handful of notable celebrities support Dotcom and Megaupload
  • Dotcom believes Vice President, Joe Biden, was behind shutting down Megaupload
  • He also has support from Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple

Images













Videos

Kim Dotcom and Megaupload founders being arraigned in court
His first interview after his arrest
Kim for President!
He can also sing
Kim faces the partyv&

Related Pages

External Links