poll Who is the greatest domain investor of all time? 2021 edition

equity78 · Jun 3, 2021

It’s been 7 years since we did a poll on the greatest domain name investor of all time on TheDomains.com. Frank Schilling won back in 2014. Over the last 7 years many new investors have come into the business.

Some investors might be perceived differently today than during the last poll, so here is the 2021 poll.

Sometimes people ask what is meant? Like so and so might not have made as much money but they lifted people up or they were a nicer human being.

This is who is the greatest domain investor of all time, the selling, sales attained, marketing and name selection skills should be what is considered.

Results of last poll

Frank Schilling (31%, 77 Votes)
Yun Ye (17%, 43 Votes)
Rick Schwartz (11%, 27 Votes)
Mike Mann (6%, 14 Votes)
Anything.com (5%, 13 Votes)
Michael Berkens (5%, 12 Votes)
Castello Brothers (4%, 11 Votes)
George Kirikos (4%, 9 Votes)
Adam Dicker (4%, 9 Votes)
Igal Lichtman (Mrs.Jello) (3%, 8 Votes)
Chris Chena (3%, 7 Votes)
Thunayan Al-Ghanim (FMA) (3%, 7 Votes)
Scott Day (2%, 6 Votes)
Marc Ostrofsky (2%, 4 Votes)
Mike Zapolin (1%, 3 Votes)
Nat Cohen/Telepathy (0%, 2 Votes)

Lox · Jun 11, 2021

Surya Giri Kurniawan said:
I see the conversation between @johnn and @DOMAIN ILLUMINATI . I think the topic is about a question if great investors must be .com owners and supporters, or no? No one can give an answer, because NGTlds are promising, but it still needs time to see the performances. The question is, if some one owns 1 millions premium NGTlds, is he the greatest investor or the greatest looser? Every one has an opinion, but there is no actual answer about that. And I agree with @johnn, it needs another threads to talk about this sensitive question. As I know, Frank Schilling has support NGtlds, while Ricks Schwartz doesn't like NGtlds... So we have to vote the best investor, without arguing about Ngtlds/CCTlds vs .com..

You need to collect more information about the Investors and their portfolios. You're right; n/gTLD or else is not important.

equity78 · Jun 11, 2021

bmugford said:
I agree with that comment. I responded to it saying the same, but the post is in moderation for some reason.

The people on the list are legends. Even people with 0 or a few votes. People like Nat Cohen, Garry Chernoff, George Kirikos, Scott Day, and many others.

It is pretty hard to put all these people in the same group. Many had completely different contributions.

How do you compare Rick Schwartz to Bob Parsons to Andrew Rosener? They all did different things at different times.

Someone like Brent Oxley has an incredible portfolio, but that is because he built an incredibly successful business in Host Gator which is a more impressive achievement IMO.

Brad

It went to spam Brad, I approved it.

oldtimer · Jun 11, 2021

bmugford said:
I agree with that comment. I responded to it saying the same, but the post is in moderation for some reason.

The people on the list are legends. Even people with 0 or a few votes. People like Nat Cohen, Garry Chernoff, George Kirikos, Scott Day, and many others.

It is pretty hard to put all these people in the same group. Many had completely different contributions.

How do you compare Rick Schwartz to Bob Parsons to Andrew Rosener? They all did different things at different times.

Someone like Brent Oxley has an incredible portfolio, but that is because he built an incredibly successful business in Host Gator which is a more impressive achievement IMO.

Brad

I believe that this thread was based on flawed logic to begin with and should have been created to acknowledge the major achievements and contributions made across the board in the domain Industry instead of trying to choose just one person.

That's why in the Olympics they give medals to so many people that are best in their own category or that they don't give a medal to just one person in the Army.

There needs to be more medals and trophies given in the domain Industry too.

IMO

On my trophy it should say:

"The longest lasting Newbie in the history of the domain Industry" ©

nononsense123 · Jun 11, 2021

Time to unwatch this thread

DOMAIN ILLUMINATI · Jun 11, 2021

nononsense123 said:
Time to unwatch this thread

Apart from the fact that you could have just clicked on "Unwatch Thread" (instead of informing us about it (which is not a problem though)) you are giving a good example of what to do if you don't want to continue participating in a discussion.

It's appreciated that you go your way peacefully.

All the best from me, the (currently) greatest (domain name investor /) domainer of all time.

Future Sensors · Jun 11, 2021

Good moment to close this thread @equity78

Thanks for all good comments.

DOMAIN ILLUMINATI · Jun 11, 2021

Just for the record, I do not agree with this poll's official outcome - I am rejecting it as the result of an uninformed electorate.

Rick Schwartz (or others from the poll's list) isn't (aren't) the greatest (domain name investor /) domainer of all time.

Because he (or others from the poll's list) does (do) not own the domain name that it necessary for it.

Windoms · Jun 12, 2021

DOMAIN ILLUMINATI said:
All the best from me, the (currently) greatest (domain name investor /) domainer of all time.

DOMAIN ILLUMINATI · Jun 12, 2021

Windoms said:

It's not the length of "Pinoccio's" "nose" that is decisive to be the greatest (domain name investor /) domainer of all time, it's the length of a certain domain name that is decisive in regards to this question.

So this picture makes no sense as a reply to my quoted post because I am indeed the greatest (domain name investor /) domainer of all time and I have already explained why.

And I can prove it.

+++

To give the community (and ultimately all readers) the whole picture of this matter, I suggest nP to reinstate all deleted posts (except a blatantly disrespectful one) of this thread, in their own interest - simply to give their members a voice and as said (written), all readers the whole picture.
All these deleted posts (except a blatantly disrespectful one) were in fact indeed nothing other than a natural reaction to other ontopic posts and they all were written in no other regards than to this thread(s poll) - in other words, they all were a part of this thread(s question) and therefore they were undeniably a part of this matter.
I don't know why nP prefers to delete decisive parts of a thread - it's like tearing out pages of a book in my eyes, it makes not much sense to delete posts as long as they are not insulting etc. and it destroys the whole picture - but that's not in my power, all I can do is to give nP my view and it's up to them to take it into consideration or not, I am just a member here (although I am the greatest (domain name investor /) domainer of all time)).

MasterOfMyDomains · Jun 12, 2021

Time to close this thread? We need more fetus pics, so gross. As for your suggestion kingof.top haha. Stay on topic, gotta do that around here, no one will TOP Frank or Rick

DOMAIN ILLUMINATI · Jun 12, 2021

MasterOfMyDomains said:
Time to close this thread? We need more fetus pics, so gross. As for your suggestion kingof.top haha. Stay on topic, gotta do that around here, no one will TOP Frank or Rick

Closing a nP discussion thread is like closing a door to nP in general, there is no value in closing a discussion.
Members can participate or not.
Simple as that.

Aside that, I already reported this (blatantly offtopic) post (with the gross pic).

+++

MasterOfYourDomains, hahaha, reread my posts to find out that I absolutely stay on topic.

+++

Neither Rick Schwartz nor Frank Schilling is the greatest (domain name investor /) domainer of all time (I have explained the reasons).

They both got topped by a domain name that (even) they can't top.

As long as one do not own this domain name, one can not be the greatest (domain name investor /) domainer of all time.
There is no higher achievement possible in domaining than to own this domain name.
In other words, this is the only criteria for being it.

HotKey · Jun 12, 2021

Yeh, indicators on who is not the greatest investor of all time:

1) They spam threads endlessly with imbecilic bullshit;

2) inject off-topic topics such as celebrity gossip and distasteful photos;

3) keep running in circles like the village idiot. Someone will always notice you, but never take you seriously.

**

I think every person on poll list at the very least has some sort of social awareness. They can take cues from like-minded individuals in the gatherings they participate in. The true greats find a way to connect, even if indirectly.

DomainBanana · Jun 12, 2021

Greatest of all time could also mean who would perform the best if starting from zero.

If everyone started with nothing in their portfolio today and we all had only $1,000 to invest, who would be the most successful?

I think the results would be different if we looked at the question this way.

oldtimer · Jun 12, 2021

DomainBanana said:
Greatest of all time could also mean who would perform the best if starting from zero.

If everyone started with nothing in their portfolio today and we all had only $1,000 to invest, who would be the most successful?

I think the results would be different if we looked at the question this way.

I would reduce the $1000 to just $50

Who could start with $50 and make 10k in just six months by buying (or hand registering) domains and trading them up.

IMO

DOMAIN ILLUMINATI · Jun 12, 2021

HotKey said:
Yeh, indicators on who is not the greatest investor of all time:

1) They spam threads endlessly with imbecilic bullshit;

2) inject off-topic topics such as celebrity gossip and distasteful photos;

3) keep running in circles like the village idiot. Someone will always notice you, but never take you seriously.

**

I think every person on poll list at the very least has some sort of social awareness. They can take cues from like-minded individuals in the gatherings they participate in. The true greats find a way to connect, even if indirectly.

1.)
Who is "they"? If you claim such, you should tell names - otherwise it's your claim that is the "imbecilic bullsh*t", it's easy to say anything without being specific and aside that, it looks like you are another one who do not understand what "spam" is.
In case you mean me with your words, you are wrong - technically and as well in terms of content. If you don't understand why, I can help.

2.)
Here I agree, this post (already deleted) and its bizarre content had indeed zero to do with this thread's topic.

3.)
The whole life is a circle (just think of what is called "breathing", probably the ultime "circle") and the term "village idiot" is a very rude term which is actually just hate speech. If you are convinced from yourself and your work, believe me, you absolutely don't care if others "take you seriously" or not, this low level way of thinking ("Will others take me or my work seriously?") doesn't affect you any longer then, your mind is free of such thoughts then.

+++

Your last sentences are well written - however, and aside all qualities the persons listed in the poll have, the point is not social awareness - the point is that none of them is the greatest (domain name investor /) domainer of all time because I am the greatest (domain name investor /) domainer of all time.

CraigD · Jun 14, 2021

AEProgram said:
Any proof to this? It sounds cool in this new conspiracy UFO era, but if you make a list of the best 500 for sale domains you will find that you could trace almost all to a known domainer.

What you wrote here is complete nonsense. In real estate this is true, not in domaining. All portfolio holders of valuable names are known in 2021.

"i think there are many high profile people/companies who will no doubt operate under the radar/own some fantastic domains (plus made great sales) but keep their business to themselves"

I think @Kingslayer made a fair point.

eg: do you know who purchased fashion.com in late 2019?

It would have to be one of the most valuable unused domains.

Who purchased it and for how much?

Beatri · Jun 22, 2021

CraigD said:
I think @Kingslayer made a fair point.

eg: do you know who purchased fashion.com in late 2019?

It would have to be one of the most valuable unused domains.

Who purchased it and for how much?

No I dont know

equity78 · Jun 22, 2021

DomainBanana said:
Greatest of all time could also mean who would perform the best if starting from zero.

If everyone started with nothing in their portfolio today and we all had only $1,000 to invest, who would be the most successful?

I think the results would be different if we looked at the question this way.

Sure if we started today things might look a lot different.

eyedomainous · Jun 24, 2021

^^Advantages are built-in with who you are, where you are, and so on. "Everyone starting with nothing" is not possible in an English dominated name game. Just as starting a portfolio today has social networking and other platform advantages not available to early domainers.

Best practice in Greatest of All Time biz polls is stick with the standard Universal Criteria for Determining the Greatest [Domain] Investor. ('Domain' in the categorical tense, be it real estate, rockets, etc.).

1). Establish ones ownership and control of [xDomain] assets.
2). ROI: compare one [xDomain] owner's business model and ROI against other [xDomain] owners.
3). Impact: Determine whose [Domain] assets and biz model has had the greatest impact on the world.

As mentioned, and by these standards, I think Bryon Allen's .TV portfolio and biz model -which grew a billion dollar media empire from scratch, and whose domains: Pets.TV, Comedy.TV, Recipe.TV, Cars.TV, ES.TV, MyDestination.TV and JusticeCentral.TV now have 80 million subscribers, wins. But his name is not even on the list. Why is that?

The subscription metric alone makes Bryon The Greatest Domain Investor because he milks his domains like cash cows for tens of million$ year after year instead of selling a cow once.. (Note: Byron's TV.com holdings, like ThisTV.com, are ad based and also generate millions annually).

Rick Swartz, uses 3rd parties to build-out over 750 domains that are considerably less successful deploying the same development model. His 35 domain sales, since 1995, are great, but are less than 1/10th of what Bryon pulls-in, with much less overhead.

Not that any of this matters here, as even if Bryon was on the list, he would lose Big. Like the "English name game advantage", NamePros is WhiteBros, so the winner here need only preach to that choir.

But, take this poll question, add Bryon Allen's name to the list, and make it a national, or global media poll on the web, radio, TV, and newspaper sites to reach as many people as freely possible, and I think we all know Bryon Allen would win in a landslide... because the work of The Greatest Domain Investor would actually be known by The People on the web.

satsdifference.com · Jun 24, 2021

Jeff had the most posts per day on .mobi mobility

All the best

satsdifference.com · Jun 24, 2021

eyedomainous said:
^^Advantages are built-in with who you are, where you are, and so on. "Everyone starting with nothing" is not possible in an English dominated name game. Just as starting a portfolio today has social networking and other platform advantages not available to early domainers.

Best practice in Greatest of All Time biz polls is stick with the standard Universal Criteria for Determining the Greatest [Domain] Investor. ('Domain' in the categorical tense, be it real estate, rockets, etc.).

1). Establish ones ownership and control of [xDomain] assets.
2). ROI: compare one [xDomain] owner's business model and ROI against other [xDomain] owners.
3). Impact: Determine whose [Domain] assets and biz model has had the greatest impact on the world.

As mentioned, and by these standards, I think Bryon Allen's .TV portfolio and biz model -which grew a billion dollar media empire from scratch, and whose domains: Pets.TV, Comedy.TV, Recipe.TV, Cars.TV, ES.TV, MyDestination.TV and JusticeCentral.TV now have 80 million subscribers, wins. But his name is not even on the list. Why is that?

The subscription metric alone makes Bryon The Greatest Domain Investor because he milks his domains like cash cows for tens of million$ year after year instead of selling a cow once.. (Note: Byron's TV.com holdings, like ThisTV.com, are ad based and also generate millions annually).

Rick Swartz, uses 3rd parties to build-out over 750 domains that are considerably less successful deploying the same development model. His 35 domain sales, since 1995, are great, but are less than 1/10th of what Bryon pulls-in, with much less overhead.

Not that any of this matters here, as even if Bryon was on the list, he would lose Big. Like the "English name game advantage", NamePros is WhiteBros, so the winner here need only preach to that choir.

But, take this poll question, add Bryon Allen's name to the list, and make it a national, or global media poll on the web, radio, TV, and newspaper sites to reach as many people as freely possible, and I think we all know Bryon Allen would win in a landslide... because the work of The Greatest Domain Investor would actually be known by The People on the web.

Yeps benown is Jessica Alba who is hiding around here.. the point of domaining for some people is to be set trying to land that big one whether aftermarket (honest.com) or hand-reg (us10y.com) then any need to even be here? Exception for peeps like DO who give to others on webchat I mean 1 billion is ALOT cash Warren.. I like the fact Rick Schwartz came back to uplift domaining on Twitter after his domainking handle was available.. he even is a bit more positive to hand-reggers like me (us30y.com) , btw whom got that 4 character .com gold derivatives on chat I gifted now

Business Brands · Jun 28, 2021

If ass.com sale is legitimate, than I would say Richard Schwartz.
I think no one, or almost no one, can get that amount of money for that domain.

satsdifference.com · Jul 12, 2021

satsdifference.com · Jul 13, 2023

cant we nominate ourself?
in 1999 january WHOIS there was one Chinese registrant most generics used contact "No Name" when was looking em up personally, anyone??

poll Who is the greatest domain investor of all time? 2021 edition

Who is the greatest domain investor of all time? 2021 edition

Rick Schwartz

Frank Schilling

Other (leave a comment)

Andrew Rosener

Mike Mann

Yun Ye

Brent Oxley

Hiren Patel

Kevin Ham

Adam Dicker

James Booth

Bob Parsons

Reberry Brothers (Andrew Reberry & Jeff Reberry)

Mike Carson

Braden Pollock

Thunayan Al-Ghanim (FMA)

Anything.com

Mike Berkens

Nat Cohen

George Kirikos

Igal Lichtman (Mrs.Jello)

Mike Zapolin

Scott Day

Jay Chapman

Garry Chernoff

Marc Ostrofsky

David and Michael Castello

Chris Chena

Andy Booth

Greg McLemore (Web Magic)

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