When we stumbled upon Milk.com, we were mystified. It appears to be someone’s personal website. But memorable domain names can be worth a million dollars or more. So, why is someone using this valuable internet real estate to post their resume and favorite recipes?
Back in the internet’s early days, it was easy to get a domain name. They were cheap or even free. The first people to grab them may now be holding onto assets that can sell for millions of dollars. These potential profits have attracted a unique breed of investor who buys and sells domain names, gambling on the value of everyday words.
On our latest show: What is a domain really worth? And we ask the owner of milk.com why he’s not selling — and if there’s a price that might change his mind.
Planet Money is writing a book! Sign up for updates about pre-sale special gifts and for book tour events.
Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.
Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
This episode was hosted by Alex Mayyasi and Jeff Guo. It was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by James Willetts. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money‘s executive producer.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
-
Bonus: Janet Yellen on Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!
Our friends at NPR’s news quiz Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! recently had a very Planet Money guest on their show: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. They asked her about smoking pot, her extremely high scores in…
-
Rescues at sea, and how to make a fortune
At around 1 a.m. on the morning of November 15, 1994, Captain Prentice “Skip” Strong III woke to a distress call. Skip was the new captain of an oil tanker called the Cherry Valley. He…
-
Hear us out: We ban left turns and other big ideas
On today’s episode, we have three big economic ideas for your consideration – ideas that could potentially improve the economy and make us more efficient. First, what if we ban left turns on roads? Then,…
-
Econ Battle Zone: Disinflation Confrontation
After very high inflation, the United States is finally feeling some relief in the form of “disinflation.” But, why exactly has inflation slowed down? Three Planet Money hosts try to answer that question while competing…
-
Mid-East conflict escalation, two indicators
On today’s show, we look at two indicators of the economic disruptions of the war in Gaza and try to trace how far they will reach. We start in the Red Sea, a crucial link…
-
The Maine Potato War of 1976
When you think of a potato, one state probably comes to mind: Idaho. But for much of American history, Maine was home to the nation’s largest potato crop. That status had changed by the 1970s,…
-
The Universal Basic Income experiment in Kenya
There’s this fundamental question in economics that has proven really hard to answer: What’s a good way to help people out of poverty? The old-school way was to fund programs that would support very particular…
-
The case of the serial sinking Spanish ships
Picture the Pacific Ocean of the 16th century. Spanish Galleons sail the wide open seas, carrying precious cargo like silver, porcelain, and textiles. The waters are dangerous; ship logs show concerns over pirates. But pirates…
-
The Rest of the Story, 2023
It’s that time of year again! Our annual year-end tradition of checking in on the stories we’ve reported and the people we met along the way. We’ll hear from a Hollywood strike captain who tried…
-
The Indicators of this year and next
Today on the show, hosts from Planet Money and The Indicator debate the economic indicators of this year and next year. First up, we try to identify the figure that best captured the essence of…