Megaupload Founder Kim Dotcom, by the Numbers

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Natalie Slade / New Zealand Herald / AP

An aerial shot of Kim Dotcom's house in Coatesville, New Zealand, on Jan. 20, 2012

When news of the international raid on Megaupload broke on Jan. 19 in the U.S., Internet aficionados got a glimpse of the man behind one of the largest file-sharing websites in the world. It turns out that the site’s founder, Kim Dotcom, was rich, large and most certainly in charge. He now sits in a New Zealand prison, awaiting trial. We attempt to dissect the man who once controlled the online media empire.

2: Number of citizenships held by Dotcom, Megaupload’s former CEO and current chief innovation officer. He holds passports from Germany, where he was born with the name Kim Schmitz, as well as Finland but is a resident of New Zealand and Hong Kong.

3: Number of other Megaupload employees arrested along with Dotcom. Bram van der Kolk, Finn Batato and Mathias Ortmann were all grabbed by New Zealand authorities on Jan. 20.

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6:45 a.m.: Time of the raid on Dotcom’s property by New Zealand police. As officers swarmed the area, Dotcom reportedly barricaded himself in a panic room built into his bedroom and armed himself with what appeared to be a sawed-off shotgun, police said.

6 ft. 7 in., 300 lb.: Dotcom’s reported height and weight. The larger-than-life figure was indeed rather large.

37: Age of Dotcom upon his arrest on Jan. 20, 2012. He turned 38 on Jan. 21 and was reported to have been arrested during or just after his birthday party.

76: Number of police officers involved in the raid.

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2005: Year Dotcom founded Megaupload, headquartered in Hong Kong. Authorities say that while some of its file-sharing business was legitimate, the site was also a major clearinghouse for illegally pirated movies, TV shows and software.

$12,000: Alleged cost per day of the Hong Kong luxury hotel room hosting Megaupload’s main office.

$4.9 million: Estimated worth of the 18 cars seized at Dotcom’s estate. The haul included 15 Mercedes-Benz, a pink 1959 Cadillac and a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe worth more than $400,000. His license plates told a tale of pomposity, reading KIMCOM, HACKER, STONED, GUILTY, MAFIA, GOD and POLICE.

$24 million: Price tag of the 25,000-sq.-ft. mansion Dotcom leases in Coatesville, New Zealand, 15 miles northwest of Auckland. Costing $30 million New Zealand dollars, it’s one of the most expensive properties in the country.

$175 million: Total worth of assets owned by Dotcom and his Megaupload employees, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The figure includes vehicles, artwork, bank accounts and a smattering of giant-screen televisions.

$500 million: Monetary damage to copyright holders caused by Megaupload, as estimated by the U.S. Department of Justice.

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