7 Things You Should Know About Megaupload's Founder

Before he founded any million-dollar companies, Kim Dotcom (born Kim Schmitz), made his name hacking into corporate computer systems in the United States. His intention was to hustle his hacking to a paid data security gig. Before he began honing his hacking skills, Dotcom was making money by copying his favorite video games and selling them to his friends and anyone else with the cash. In the late '90s, Dotcom started a computer security company called DataProtect, though that didn't stop him from hacking. In 1998 he was arrested for selling credit card numbers he purchased from hackers in the U.S. Two years later Kim would make his first large sum of money when he sold a majority of DataProtect to TUV Rheinland.

A year after he sold a majority of his company DataProtect, Dotcom was involved in what was at the time the largest insider-trading scandal in Germany's history. Dotcom purchased $375,000 worth of shares of an online marketplace called LetsBuyIt.com. Shortly thereafter he announced that he was planning on investing EUR 50 million into the nearly bankrupt company. There was only one problem: He didn't have anywhere close to EUR 50 million. The news of his planned investment sent LetsBuyIt.com's stock skyrocketing. Once the stock price rose high enough, Dotcom decided to sell his shares for profit and leave Germany for Thailand where was eventually detained and sent back to Germany.

Kim Dotcom wasn't all about fraudulent activities. In 1999, his DataProtect company and an engineering firm called IVM partnered on a highly networked and high-tech car called the Megacar. Using an Audi A8 as a base, the Megacar sported a Windows NT server, a 17.3" SGI flat panel display, and 16 GSM modules to provide on-the-go Internet. It was ahead of its time, and seemingly the only legal endeavor undertaken by Dotcom.

Mr. Dotcom is not one for the preservation of money. He would much rather spend it all while he's breathing. Case in point: Kim's outrageous car collection which boasts Lamborghini's, Mercedes-Benzes, Rolls-Royces, and Audis. Even crazier are the license plates that adorn his whips, some of which read: "Evil", "CEO", "God", "Stoned", "Mafia", "Hacker", and "Guilty". Schmitz also participates in the Gumball 3000, an international rally of which took first place in 2001.

Dotcom needed a crib to go along with his ever-growing car collection. In 2010 he set his sights on one of the most expensive houses in New Zealand, a 25,000-square-foot mansion once owned by Richard and Ruth Bradley, founders of the Chrisco catalog service. Kim intended to buy the $25 million mansion after the lease expired, but was denied by the New Zealand Government on the grounds that he did not meet the country's "good character" test. It's in this house where armed forces found Dotcom locked in a panic room with a sawed-off shotgun.

Despite his newfound wealth, Kim Doctom's love of video games never faded. In fact, it only increased. In early January, Dotcom became the top Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 online player in the world. The game, released late 2011, is the best-selling video game of all time, bringing in $775 million globally in first week of release. Out of all the millions of people around the world who bought the game, Kim Dotcom is the best. Step your game up.

The biggest news besides the take down of Megaupload.com was the revelation that Swizz Beatz was the CEO of the file-sharing service. Many doubted the claim even after the site listed the multi-platinum producer as its Chief Executive Officer. However, shortly after, Megaupload's attorney stated that Swizz was never CEO, leaving many to question whether Dotcom ever knew Swizz. Well, he did. Who do you think helped Dotcom get all those musicians to participate in the video for the Megaupload Song. According to a spokesperson for Swizz, the two were in talks to install Beatz was the CEO. Dotcom's lavish ways often put him in the company of celebrities like Bruce Willis.