Dotcom, a German national with New Zealand residency, has moved from Auckland to the tourist hub of Queenstown

Kim Dotcom, the founder of file-sharing company Megaupload, is advertising for live-in staff in his New Zealand mansion; and the eclectic team, including a chef and counter-intelligence officer, he is recruiting will make for a lively household.

Dotcom, a German national who has permanent residency in New Zealand, shifted south from his longtime base in Auckland to the tourist hub of Queenstown in the lower South Island last year, citing a desire to get away from “spies” and raise his children among mountains and lakes.

Last year a decision by Hong Kong’s high court meant Dotcom was able to access frozen assets, property and cash, which he credits with funding his family’s relocation.

Dotcom has five children and a new wife, 22-year-old Elizabeth.

Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) Thanks to a Hong Kong Judge my family can move to Queenstown and my kids will be surrounded by beautiful mountains & lakes instead of spies.

Queenstown and the southern lakes region, a longtime playground for the rich and famous, have also become popular with silicon valley entrepreneurs and billionaire preppers.

The PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel owns land by Lake Wanaka, and former Today show host Matt Lauer owns a farm an hour’s drive from Queenstown.



Dotcom said Queenstown and New Zealand generally were appealing refuges from the increasingly turbulent and unstable global environment.

“The main reason I decided to move to New Zealand over a decade ago was because of the global danger and New Zealand’s distance from potential global conflict,” Dotcom told the Guardian.

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“I think New Zealand is greatly positioned far away from all of the trouble in the northern hemisphere and I am a believer that we are going to have another great war at some stage because history repeats itself and humanity hasn’t really learnt much from its past mistakes.”

Since settling in Queenstown Dotcom has been tweeting regularly, and is now recruiting for a range of positions.



“Who wants to come and live with the Dotcoms in Queenstown?” he said in a twitter post seeking a Michelin-starred chef, a German teacher and security personnel.

Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) Who wants to come live with the Dotcoms in Queenstown?



We are looking for a Michelin Star Chef, Executive Protection Professional, Counter-Intelligence Professional, German Teacher for my kids, a DJ / Sound Engineer, a PA and a Zeppelin Pilot 😜



Send your CV to twitter@kim.com

Dotcom said he had received “several hundred” applications for the positions, and his shortlist would now be vetted by his security team.

Unsurprisingly Dotcom had received the least number of applicants for the Zeppelin pilot position, a job he was trying to fill for a possible tourist venture in the scenic southern lakes.

The DJ and sound engineer was being hired to work with Dotcom on an upcoming album: “it is not a DJ for partying purposes, it is a DJ for music production”.

The post attracted hundreds of retweets and comments on Twitter. One said he was “a very good carpenter”. “I can also double as a bodyguard as I’m efficient with a nail gun. You’re welcome.”

Another said: “Executive protection is the only thing I have extensive experience with. However I do make a mean lasagna.”

It is six years since Dotcom, a self-described “internet freedom fighter”, was arrested in a dramatic police raid on his mansion near Auckland after the FBI shut down Megaupload’s servers.

Dotcom claimed Megaupload was a genuine file-sharing site that did its best to police copyright infringement but had 50 million daily users and could not control every aspect of its activity.

Dotcom has accused US authorities of pursuing a vendetta against him on behalf of Hollywood studios.

The FBI alleges Megaupload netted more than US$175m in criminal proceeds and cost copyright owners more than US$500m by offering pirated content.

