Julian Assange, an Australian publisher, journalist, computer programmer, and Internet activist, has a net worth of approximately $300 thousand. Assange is best known for being the editor-in-chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website that publishes classified and private information about governments and politicians. He has garnered international attention for his outspoken views on freedom of the press, censorship, and investigative journalism.
Early Life and Background
Julian Assange was born Julian Paul Hawkins on July 3, 1971, in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. He is the son of Christie Ann Hawkins and John Shipton, who separated before he was born. When Julian was one year old, his mother married actor Brett Assange, whom Julian regards as his father. This is when he adopted the surname Assange.
Julian Assange’s Early Hacking Career
At the age of 16, in 1987, Julian Assange began hacking under the pseudonym “Mendax.” He formed a hacking group called “The International Subversives.” During his teenage years, Assange married a girl named Teresa, and they had a son, Daniel, in 1989. The couple later divorced and engaged in a custody battle over Daniel until 1999. In 1991, Assange was caught hacking into the Melbourne master terminal of Nortel, a Canadian multinational telecommunications corporation. The Australian Federal Police tapped his phone line and raided his home, leading to Assange being charged with 31 counts of hacking and related crimes in 1994. He pled guilty to 24 charges and was released on a good behavior bond.
The Foundation of WikiLeaks
Julian Assange stated that he registered the domain leaks.org in 1999 but did not utilize it initially. He brought attention to a patent granted to the National Security Agency (NSA) in August 1999 for voice-data harvesting technology. In 2006, Julian and others established WikiLeaks, with Assange becoming a member of the organization’s advisory board and editor-in-chief. His vision was to create an “open-source, democratic intelligence agency,” although the open-editing aspect was soon abandoned. However, the site remained open for anonymous submissions.
Major Publications and Global Impact
From 2007 to 2010, Julian Assange traveled extensively on WikiLeaks business. The platform published various leaks and censorship lists, including revelations about drone strikes in Yemen and the 2008 Tibetan unrest in China. WikiLeaks gained international prominence when it published bank records from the Swiss bank Julius Baer. In 2008, during the U.S. presidential election campaigns, WikiLeaks posted contents of a Yahoo! Mail account belonging to Sarah Palin after it was hacked.
Notable WikiLeaks Publications
WikiLeaks has published information on numerous significant topics, including extrajudicial killings in Kenya, toxic waste dumping in Cote d’Ivoire, and procedures at Guantanamo Bay. The organization has five international print media partners: “Der Spiegel,” “Le Monde,” “The Guardian,” “El Pais,” and “The New York Times.” In November 2010, WikiLeaks and its media partners began publishing detailed U.S. State Department cables, known as Cablegate.
Legal Challenges and Criminal Investigations
In early 2010, Chelsea Manning, a former U.S. Army soldier, disclosed nearly 750,000 classified military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks. Following the release of the Manning material, U.S. authorities began investigating WikiLeaks and Assange for potential prosecution under the Espionage Act of 1917. In December 2011, prosecutors in Manning’s case revealed chat logs between Manning and an interlocutor believed to be Assange. Manning was charged with 22 offenses and imprisoned from 2010 until her sentence was commuted in 2017.
The Swedish Allegations and Embassy Asylum
In November 2010, Sweden issued an international arrest warrant for Julian Assange over allegations of sexual assault involving two women. Assange breached his bail and sought refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador in London in June 2012. He was granted asylum on the grounds of political persecution, with concerns that extradition to Sweden would lead to extradition to the United States. Assange remained in the embassy until his asylum was withdrawn on April 11, 2019, leading to his arrest by British police.
Incarceration and Extradition Battles
Julian Assange was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison. He was further charged with violating the Espionage Act of 1917 when the U.S. government unsealed older indictments against him. Since his arrest, Assange has been incarcerated at HM Prison Belmarsh in London. On January 4, 2021, a British judge ruled that Assange could not be extradited to the United States due to concerns about his mental health and the risk of suicide in a U.S. prison. Despite this, Assange was denied bail, with authorities deeming him a flight risk.
Conclusion
Julian Assange’s journey from an ethical hacker to the founder of WikiLeaks has been marked by significant achievements and controversies. Despite facing numerous legal challenges and personal hardships, his impact on global journalism and the fight for freedom of the press remains profound. With a net worth of $300 thousand, Assange continues to be a pivotal figure in the ongoing discourse on government transparency and accountability.