Kim Dotcom net worth: Internet entrepreneur says he is "recovering from a serious stroke" in X post
Finnish-German internet entrepreneur Kim Dotcom took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on November 25, 2024, to give a health update. The entrepreneur who is also a political activist revealed that he recently had a stroke. Kim further wrote:
"UPDATE: I am recovering from a serious stroke. I have the best health professionals helping me to make a recovery. I will be back as soon as I can. Please be patient and pray for my family and I."
Kim didn't reveal any information about the exact date when he had the stroke. The tweet garnered traction on the internet, where it received more than 1.5 million views as well as over 69k likes within less than 12 hours from the time it was uploaded.
Ira Rothken, Kim's attorney confirmed the details mentioned in the tweet while talking to The Associated Press on November 25. Rothken, however, did not reveal any further information about the same. The lawyer also didn't confirm if the tweet was drafted by Kim or somebody else.
Kim Dotcom, who rose to fame as a hacker in the 1990s, has a net worth of $10 million as per Celebrity Net Worth. In 2003, Kim founded an online file hosting and sharing service known as Data Project Limited, which was later renamed Megaupload in 2005.
The service was, however, seized by the Justice Department on accusations related to copyright infringement, money laundering, wire fraud, and racketeering in 2012. It was claimed that a lot of data shared on the platform were allegedly pirated. The lawyers then argued that it was the users who shared such data and not the founders.
More about Kim Dotcom and his company Megaupload
Kim Dotcom was born in January 1974 in Kiel, West Germany, and currently resides in Glenorchy, New Zealand. The news about his health had surfaced on the internet amid the lengthy battle of trying to extradite him from New Zealand to the United States.
In August 2024, New Zealand's justice minister Paul Goldsmith agreed to extradite Kim to the US, to face trial, a date of his extradition is yet to be scheduled, as stated by Euro News on November 25. While law enforcement authorities accused the platform of the alleged pirated content, lawyers blamed it on the users.
Euro News further reported that according to the US Department of Justice, the case surrounding Megaupload and the entrepreneur has been the "largest criminal copyright case in US history." In August 2024, Kim Dotcom seemingly referred to the extradition to the US and tweeted:
"I love New Zealand. I'm not leaving."
While Kim is yet to be extradited, two of his former business partners have previously pleaded guilty to the charges. This resulted in them serving time in New Zealand, thus, avoiding any possibility of extradition to the US.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, when Megaupload was at its peak, Kim's personal earnings touched about $150,000 each day in profits. Kim Dotcom had been arrested more than once even before the legalities surrounding Megaupload came up.
In 1994, he was accused of allegedly selling phone numbers which resulted in him being detained for a month. He was again arrested for the second time for computer fraud and data espionage. He then was issued a two-year suspended sentence, because he was a minor.
As for the medical update, no further information has been made available as of now.