International Man of Mystery
September 1, 2010 4:47 AM Subscribe
How does Julian Assange make a living?
According to public information, he seems to have no income at all:
"Since setting up Wikileaks he has returned to the nomadic lifestyle of his youth, travelling the world with no home of his own and possessing only a laptop and a rucksack full of belongings."
Is this 100% correct - or does he make money from speeches, from Der Spiegel, the New York Times, the Guardian, Aftonbladet etc?
A blog comment quoting a now deleted part sentence from the Wikipedia article:
"Like all others working for the site, Assange was an unpaid volunteer as of January 2010; being able to self-finance his work because of money he made earlier with Internet-related activities."
Activities as a computer programmer, at least those described in the Wikipedia article (open source port scanner etc), do not appear to have been profitable enough to secure a life without income for several years.
How can he travel the world when the immigration authorities in many countries do not accept visitors without enough money to support themselves? (Link to example.)
According to public information, he seems to have no income at all:
"Since setting up Wikileaks he has returned to the nomadic lifestyle of his youth, travelling the world with no home of his own and possessing only a laptop and a rucksack full of belongings."
Is this 100% correct - or does he make money from speeches, from Der Spiegel, the New York Times, the Guardian, Aftonbladet etc?
A blog comment quoting a now deleted part sentence from the Wikipedia article:
"Like all others working for the site, Assange was an unpaid volunteer as of January 2010; being able to self-finance his work because of money he made earlier with Internet-related activities."
Activities as a computer programmer, at least those described in the Wikipedia article (open source port scanner etc), do not appear to have been profitable enough to secure a life without income for several years.
How can he travel the world when the immigration authorities in many countries do not accept visitors without enough money to support themselves? (Link to example.)
Inheritance? Smart investing? Honoraria? Other websites? Journalism?
There are lots of ways that he could make money in a given year. None of your links or the links they contain seem to claim that he is without funds.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 4:59 AM on September 1, 2010
There are lots of ways that he could make money in a given year. None of your links or the links they contain seem to claim that he is without funds.
posted by The 10th Regiment of Foot at 4:59 AM on September 1, 2010
Best answer: This article on Wired discusses this question. Basically, all his expenses are paid through Wikileaks (he doesn't receive a salary, but all expenses are paid). They are considering drawing a salary, though, and there are calls for more transparency and accusations of misuse of funds. His fundraising techniques include taking Wikileaks offline until they receive money.
posted by Houstonian at 5:45 AM on September 1, 2010
posted by Houstonian at 5:45 AM on September 1, 2010
Speakers' fees plus staying with friends? If your travel and accommodation expenses are met then you don't need very much cash.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:59 AM on September 1, 2010
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:59 AM on September 1, 2010
Wikileaks doesn't pay Assange a salary, but it does cover his travel expenses (like Houstonian said).
According to Suelett Dreyfus's Underground, Assange (a. k.a. "mendax") co-founded a computer security company in the early 90's, though the company ultimately went under. Assange presumably did other paid work before working for Wikileaks full-time.
posted by nangar at 6:18 AM on September 1, 2010
According to Suelett Dreyfus's Underground, Assange (a. k.a. "mendax") co-founded a computer security company in the early 90's, though the company ultimately went under. Assange presumably did other paid work before working for Wikileaks full-time.
posted by nangar at 6:18 AM on September 1, 2010
Mod note: Couple comments removed, this is not the place to discuss developing news.
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:56 AM on September 1, 2010
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:56 AM on September 1, 2010
If you're travelling all the time & don't have a home of your own, all your expenses are travel expenses.
posted by scalefree at 7:51 AM on September 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by scalefree at 7:51 AM on September 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
How can he travel the world when the immigration authorities in many countries do not accept visitors without enough money to support themselves? (Link to example.)
1. To get a visa you need evidence of funds - but not of income. If you've got a bank statement saying you've got a bit of money saved up, you're good to go.
2. Assange is Australian, meaning he does not need a visa for business or tourist visits of less than 6 months.
posted by Mike1024 at 8:35 AM on September 1, 2010
1. To get a visa you need evidence of funds - but not of income. If you've got a bank statement saying you've got a bit of money saved up, you're good to go.
2. Assange is Australian, meaning he does not need a visa for business or tourist visits of less than 6 months.
posted by Mike1024 at 8:35 AM on September 1, 2010
Activities as a computer programmer, at least those described in the Wikipedia article (open source port scanner etc), do not appear to have been profitable enough to secure a life without income for several years.
What's described on the Wikipedia page under "career as a computer programmer" mentions that he was working as a programmer, *and* includes a list of notable accomplishments; they aren't necessarily connected. A lot of people work as professional programmers and also develop open source projects on the side, for fun, or just because they want the program's functionality and then feel like sharing it with anyone else who may want it. Some companies do pay salaried employees to develop open source programs.
Further, you might be surprised what a programmer can make in salary or even just from side projects, if they hit it lucky. If they are also frugal and have no major debts (not that we know either way for the person in question), they can rack up a lot of savings.
posted by galadriel at 8:38 AM on September 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
What's described on the Wikipedia page under "career as a computer programmer" mentions that he was working as a programmer, *and* includes a list of notable accomplishments; they aren't necessarily connected. A lot of people work as professional programmers and also develop open source projects on the side, for fun, or just because they want the program's functionality and then feel like sharing it with anyone else who may want it. Some companies do pay salaried employees to develop open source programs.
Further, you might be surprised what a programmer can make in salary or even just from side projects, if they hit it lucky. If they are also frugal and have no major debts (not that we know either way for the person in question), they can rack up a lot of savings.
posted by galadriel at 8:38 AM on September 1, 2010 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
And that immigration restriction is really not much of a practical obstacle. There are plenty of backpackers traveling the world with no money.
posted by smackfu at 4:57 AM on September 1, 2010