'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAME/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABQb/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAL4Rae//xAAfEAABAwMFAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACAQMFAAQhBgcRE1L/2gAIAQEAAT8AjNf3YRwEaRgOFgRVp1UpzcWV7C4Yhlz4dr//xAAXEQEAAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAIR/9oACAECAQE/ABWzs//EABgRAAIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAhES/9oACAEDAQE/AFJ4VH//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Mike Lynch, hailed as "Britain's Bill Gates," is still missing after his superyacht, dubbed the Bayesian, was caught in a tornado off the coast of Sicily on August 19, 2024. The 59-year-old billionaire and his 18-year-old daughter are among the six people missing after the 183 ft yacht sank in the early hours of Monday.
Lynch co-founded Autonomy Corporation in 1996, a software company that analyzed huge amounts of data using Bayesian interference. In 2011, US-based IT giant Hewlett-Packard (HP) acquired Autonomy for $11.7 billion. However, HP wrote off $8.8 billion the following year, alleging to have discovered "serious accounting improprieties" within Autonomy.
A legal battle between HP and Mike Lynch ensued, which saw the billionaire cleared of all 15 counts of fraud in June 2024. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Mike Lynch is estimated to have a net worth of $1 billion.
Mike Lynch was former UK PM David Cameron's science advisor
According to The Guardian, Mike Lynch was born in Ireland but raised near Chelmsford, Essex. He enrolled at Cambridge University and studied biochemistry, physics, and mathematics. Lynch specialized in adaptive pattern recognition, and his thesis was considered one of the most widely read research pieces in Cambridge University's library. He also got his PhD from Cambridge University.
After graduating, he tried his hand at various technology-based startups. In 1996, Lynch, David Tabizel, and Richard Gaunt started Automony, a company that utilized adaptive pattern recognition based on Bayesian interference to analyze data.
Autonomy soon grew to become one of the top UK-based companies. Lynch also gained popularity after he was appointed the science advisor for then-UK PM David Cameron. He was also awarded an OBE in 2006 for his services to enterprise.
In 2011, HP acquired Autonomy for over $11.7 billion, but the computing giant soon claimed the company inflated its value using financial tricks. HP wrote down $8.8 billion of assets due to "serious accounting improprieties, disclosure failures, and outright misrepresentations." The UK Serious Fraud Office investigated these allegations and decided to retire the case due to insufficient evidence after two years in 2015.
The case continued in the US, and Lynch, who denied these allegations, was indicted of fraud in 2018 with Autonomy's former vice president of finance, Stephen Chamberlain. That same year, Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy's former finance chief officer, was sentenced to five years in prison for fraud in the US.
The case ended in June 2024 after both Lynch and Chamberlain were found not guilty of 15 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy. Chamberlain died in a car accident just days before Lynch went missing on August 17, 2024.
According to The Telegraph, Mike Lynch's yacht trip was to celebrate his legal victory. The vessel was carrying 22 people, including 12 passengers and 22 crew members when it capsized off the coast of Sicily due to a tornado-induced waterspout when it was anchored at the Porticlello port.
Fifteen people were rescued, including Mike Lynch's wife, Angela Bacares, who sustained abrasions at the soles of her feet, rendering her unable to walk. The body of a Canadian chef was found during a rescue dive. The search for Mike Lynch and the other missing people is still ongoing at the time of this article.
