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Kim Dotcom (born Kim Schmitz; 21 January 1974), also known as Kimble and Kim Tim Jim Vestor, is a German-Finnish Internet entrepreneur, businessman, and political party founder who resides in New Zealand. He has been accused of criminal copyright infringement and a host of derivative charges, such as money laundering, racketeering and wire fraud, by the U.S. Department of Justice and is currently fighting extradition proceedings in New Zealand.〔 He rose to fame in Germany in the 1990s as a self-proclaimed internet entrepreneur. He received prison time in 1994 for computer fraud and data espionage, and another suspended prison sentence in 2003 for insider trading and embezzlement. In January 2012, the New Zealand Police placed him in custody in response to US charges of criminal copyright infringement in relation to his Megaupload website. Dotcom was accused of costing the entertainment industry $500 million through pirated content uploaded to his file-sharing site, which had 150 million registered users. Dotcom has denied the charges, and is fighting the attempt to extradite him to the United States. Despite legal action still pending over Megaupload, Mega launched in January 2013, opening to the public exactly one year after Megaupload was shut down. It is a cloud storage service that uses encryption to prevent government or third-party "spies" from invading users' privacy. == Personal life == Dotcom was born as Kim Schmitz in Kiel, West Germany.〔"Der Unfassbare", Berliner Morgenpost, 12 February 2001 〕 His mother was Finnish and so he holds a Finnish passport. His father was German. As well having an immigrant background he also had a troubled upbringing. He has siblings in Finland. He has been called one of the world's "largest tech entrepreneurs".〔(Multi-millionaire hacker buys Chrisco mansion ), ''The New Zealand Herald'', 14 February 2010〕〔(The Fast, Fabulous, Allegedly Fraudulent Life of Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom ), 26 January 2012〕 He changed his surname to Dotcom in 2005, apparently in homage to the stock market bubble that made him a millionaire.〔(Inside the lavish life of Web's Mr. Dotcom ), ''The Wall Street Journal''. 21 January 2012.〕 Prior to his arrest in New Zealand, he enjoyed a luxurious lifestyle. In 2001, his main source of income was a company called Kimvestor, which he valued at 200 million euros. He is known for spending his money on expensive cars and boats. On one occasion he spent $1 million chartering a 240-foot luxury yacht and moored it in Monte Carlo harbour during the 2000 Monaco Formula One Grand Prix and threw lavish parties for guests including Prince Rainier of Monaco.〔(The world of Kim Schmitz ), The Guardian 26 January 2001〕 According to U.S. officials, he owned at least 18 luxury cars – including a pink 1959 Cadillac and three cars with vanity license plates that read HACKER, MAFIA, and STONED.〔 He has taken part in the Gumball 3000 international road rally: in 2001 in his Mercedes Brabus SV12 Megacar, and in 2004. In an interview on Belgian Television, he claimed that in Morocco a car was blocking him and he "had to bump him off the road. Nothing happened to him". He claims he subsequently found out it was the Chief of Police in a civilian car.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Kim Schmitz (Kimble) Street Racing In Belgium – Part II of Belgium News )〕 Schmitz changed his name to Dotcom in 2005 while living in Hong Kong where he set up Megaupload. He was granted permanent residence in New Zealand on 29 November 2010.〔Neazor, D.P. (Report of Inspector General of Intelligence and Security ), p 4, 27 September 2012〕 At the time his residency application was being considered, Dotcom had made charitable contributions in New Zealand and was planning a huge fireworks show for the city of Auckland at a cost of NZ$600,000. He leased a NZ$30M mansion at Coatesville, in the electorate of John Key near Auckland, owned by Richard and Ruth Bradley, the British founders of Chrisco, and considered one of the most expensive homes in the country. He wanted to buy the mansion when the lease expired. Before his arrest in New Zealand, he was the world's number one-ranked ''Modern Warfare 3'' player out of more than 15 million online players. On 23 January 2012, he lost the position and dropped to number two. Dotcom married Mona Verga on July 10, 2009. He became the father of twin girls (his fourth and fifth children) when his wife gave birth in Auckland a month after he was released on bail from Mt Eden prison. On 17 May 2014, Dotcom announced on Twitter that he was separated from his wife Mona and was filing for divorce.〔(Megupload founder Kim Dotcom announces separation from wife Mona on Twitter ) news.com.au, 18 May 2014.〕 Four days earlier, Mona had left her directorship positions in the Dotcom family's companies.〔(Kim Dotcom's wife left companies ahead of split ) tvnz.co.nz, 19 May 2014.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kim Dotcom」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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