It was considered, at the time, the most expensive house in New Zealand. However, he only rents it. He tried to buy it, but the New Zealand government get involved in overseas investment deals/land purchase, and he was denied permission to buy it because he was "not of good character".
It is known within NZ as "the Chrisco mansion", as it was built by the owners of Chrisco - a Christmas hamper mail order company. People still get wealthy the old-fashioned way down under.
It's a lot of food that you pay for in installments throughout the year. They deliver it at Christmas time so that you don't have to worry about laying out a lot of additional money for food at Christmas.
I remember him participating in the Gumball Rally in Europe in 2001 (Filmed by Jackass) in a Mercedes Benz S V12 Brabus, I'd guess a $900,000.00 car. So my guess is that he was quite rich before starting MegaUpload (founded in 2005) :-)
Oh yes, he has been lying, bragging and hustling for far longer.
In 2001, he told the NY Times his net worth was Euro 200 million. Obviously not true, but he did make at least some money by selling Data Protect to TÜV Rheinland.
