Millionaire Domainers

[Sameh]

DomainTools Blog :

Calling all Millionaires. We are putting together a list of everyone in this industry that has made a million dollars from domain names. The list is long but we need your help to complete the list.

Please submit names of fellow domainers that have made it big in the comments below. We will alter the post and put the millionaires that people suggest directly into the post.

As new people join the list we will try and do a blog post about them. Also as we get to it we will do a post about everyone already on the list.

[list clipped by request -- please view link below for current millionaire list]

From DomainTools Blog

 

[Ronald Regging]

You have to understand that the majority of the people who have made millions from domaining either got in very early, already had big money to invest to begin with, or carved their own niche/path to the top... I would say that the majority of those fall into the first 2 categories. So in essence, their success stories are irrelevant today.

The ones to read and learn from are the stories of people who started with very little and made millions... But then again, those are the type of people who probably didn't follow the traditional path... So if you're looking to follow in the footsteps of others, you're already lacking the necessary skill to do what they did.

and to eq.domains... no my goal isn't to make my first million.. it's just to be able to do what I love full-time.

 

[dgridley]

Innovation is the key to success...

So if you're looking to follow in the footsteps of others, you're already lacking the necessary skill to do what they did.

 

[zachary0611]

I think this good because you can study what they bought and figure out what will be a good investment in the future

 

[Sameh]

and to eq.domains... no my goal isn't to make my first million..

1Mil is not my main dream .. "compete with Yahoo , Google or whatever who will be the big boys in these days" is my dream .. you can consider 1mil as a station or level in my dream.

it's just to be able to do what I love full-time.

And what "you love to do full-time" need money ? ... so we still in the same train.

it's not about exact "1mil" .. it's about the money as a result for any kind of business..
anyway i dont think anyone will be able to take his business to the next level without loving it for real... neither the "Millionaire Domainers" had ,what they have, for nothing but love their business so much and here are the results.

 

[Ronald Regging]

I think this good because you can study what they bought and figure out what will be a good investment in the future

This just isn't true though. This is like studying the sales of abacuses in the Roman Empire to determine what the future sales for computers will be... In both cases the past is separated from the future (even the present) by immovable walls of time and progression.

With domaining, these progressions come in many forms. But simply put, scarcity is the biggest factor that prevents you from repeating what they did, unless of course you already have huge sums of money to invest. This is why I stressed that the only way to do what they did is to already possess the same mindset that they did. Which as dav3.us stated, is innovation. You need to be able to look at the current landscape of the industry, analyze the markets and be able to come up with an innovative way to carve your own path. Otherwise, you'll just end up recycling the same stuff over and over and never really find yourself getting anywhere.

 

[goodkarmaco]

Ronald Regging states an important fact. If a person had or inherited tons of money and then went into domaining, he/ she could have a great advantage in making their first million from domains, so I too agree making a million in domaining is not a good way to measure success in this field.

 

[gazzip]

I always enjoy reading about the success of others especially when they are an underdog and start out with nothing.

Rick Schwartz story has got to be my favourite one so far, his vision, credit card, BIG BALLS and perfect timing set him up for life. He took a educated gamble and it paid off beautifully :bingo:

Innovation is the key to success...

...and timing ....and money to take advantage of opportunities when they arise !

I don't think there is much chance of making that sort of money in domains now unless you have BIG money to play with.

I bet some of these guys were buying country names and one word generics in the late 90's for an absolute pittance!

Timing is everything ! that's of course unless you're already loaded :lol:

..now, I wonder if I will beat Vaxis tonight in a 1 on 1 at snapnames we're in :lol:

What's my chances ??
.

 

[hmcintyre]

I don't think there is much chance of making that sort of money in domains now unless you have BIG money to play with.

I bet some of these guys were buying country names and one word generics in the late 90's for an absolute pittance!

Timing is everything ! that's of course unless you're already loaded :lol:

..now, I wonder if I will beat Vaxis tonight in a 1 on 1 at snapnames we're in :lol:

What's my chances ??
.

I disagree. It would likely take much longer, but I still think it's possible to make an absolute fortune in domain names.

If you start out with $24, like I did, and buy 3 .com domains with that, then sell the domains for $15 each, you have regained your original $24, and gained another 21, leaving you with $45.

Then if you buy 5 .com domains, sell them for 15 dollars each... you can see where I'm going with this. It's possible to make big money in domains, but you have to buy SMART, not big. Smart.

 

[Devil_Dog]

I disagree. It would likely take much longer, but I still think it's possible to make an absolute fortune in domain names.

If you start out with $24, like I did, and buy 3 .com domains with that, then sell the domains for $15 each, you have regained your original $24, and gained another 21, leaving you with $45.

Then if you buy 5 .com domains, sell them for 15 dollars each... you can see where I'm going with this. It's possible to make big money in domains, but you have to buy SMART, not big. Smart.

Yes, you make it sound so easy to reg a name and immediately have someone who would be willing to pay for it.

 

[nrmillions]

Ronald Regging states an important fact. If a person had or inherited tons of money and then went into domaining, he/ she could have a great advantage in making their first million from domains, so I too agree making a million in domaining is not a good way to measure success in this field.

yea but no matter what you start with if you have not made at least $1 million in profit from domaining then you are definitely NOT a success in this field IMO. So it is a decent measure for success.

 

[hmcintyre]

yea but no matter what you start with if you have not made at least $1 million in profit from domaining then you are definitely NOT a success in this field IMO. So it is a decent measure for success.

The thing is, it's much easier to start off with 1 million bucks and make 2 million dollars than it is to start off with $10 and end up with $1 000 010.

When you start off with the means to buy most domains, it's definitely an asset.

 

[nrmillions]

The thing is, it's much easier to start off with 1 million bucks and make 2 million dollars than it is to start off with $10 and end up with $1 000 010.

When you start off with the means to buy most domains, it's definitely an asset.

yea but even if you start with $1 million and make another $1 million in profit you still made a successful move. Of course it much easier to make money with money.

 

[hmcintyre]

yea but even if you start with $1 million and make another $1 million in profit you still made a successful move. Of course it much easier to make money with money.

Yes, you are successful, but you are not nearly as successful as the person who started off with 10 bucks.

Hahaha we should try and formulate something that measures success as a proportion of the amount of money one started out with compared with what one ended.

 

[blaknite]

This debate reminds me of a documentary that was all hyped up on one of the more educational tv channels a while back. I remember them saying on the commercials things like "a brilliant rags-to-riches story." It was about the founder of amazon.com. By the time the show aired I was on the edge of my seat thirsting in anticipation. About 15 minutes into the show they revealed that his business was a complete flop from his own lack of funds. It wasn't until his wife's parents "gifted" them $100,000 that they were able to build amazon into anything of real value. The story just doesn't carry any impact when you hear it for what it really is.

It kills me to even imagine where I would be now if I had started with 100k, instead of a boot out the door. I know for a fact I missed out on a real estate deal that would have netted me 2.5 million for less than a 100k investment. At the time 100k was beyond my financial reach. Though I admit I didn't realize the scope of it then. Perhaps I could have tried just a bit harder...

There's no question in my mind that having access to funds makes all the difference. Even now, twelve years after graduation I don't have access to enough cash that I could jump at a deal in the 100k range. The way I approach a deal has completely changed when something comes along that is within my reach. It makes a huge difference to be able to yell "Sold" instead of thinking to myself can I afford to risk that much while someone else is yelling "Sold" in my place.

 

[Ronald Regging]

yea but no matter what you start with if you have not made at least $1 million in profit from domaining then you are definitely NOT a success in this field IMO. So it is a decent measure for success.

I doubt anyone would say that someone who made $100k, or $500k wasn't a success... Numbers are arbitrary.

To put this in a better perspective. There are a lot of people who lose money from domaining... I know a few people who aren't millionares, but they've started with nothing, have progressed at a nice pace and have managed to make nice profits, 5-10k in their first year. I consider these domainers as successful, because not only did they come into this as beginners with hardly any money, but they were able to harness the information and analyze the market enough to make a very nice profit their first year in. Many many more new domainers see tremendous losses when starting out, because they just don't understand the industry, or rush into it thinking they can be millionaires overnight. That's not how it works when you start with nothing. Plain and simple.

Maybe these people who have only made 5-10k their first year aren't considered successful in the grand scheme of things... But when you observe people, their actions, and decisions, it's not hard to see which people WILL be successful in the future. But the same people who fail to recognize success, even in it's budding state, are the same people who won't recognize an opportunity when it presents itself.

 

[robertjr]

..now, I wonder if I will beat Vaxis tonight in a 1 on 1 at snapnames we're in :lol:

What's my chances ??
.

 

[nrmillions]

I doubt anyone would say that someone who made $100k, or $500k wasn't a success... Numbers are arbitrary.

I would be one of the people who says they arent a success at all. Everyone measures success in different amounts though. $100k is not even a decent 1 year salary so making a total of $100k in your entire time domaining is not a success. It would of course be nice to make an extra $100k domaining but I dont think it means you are successful. Spending a few years and a ton of time domaining just to make $5k or $10k profit is not worth it IMO, you can make more from having an extra part-time job delivering pizza from all the time you spent. $1 million starts the bare minimum level of success in business and investments no matter what you start with IMO.

 

[Ronald Regging]

I would be one of the people who says they arent a success at all. Everyone measures success in different amounts though. $100k is not even a decent 1 year salary so making a total of $100k in your entire time domaining is not a success. It would of course be nice to make an extra $100k domaining but I dont think it means you are successful. Spending a few years and a ton of time domaining just to make $5k or $10k profit is not worth it IMO, you can make more from having an extra part-time job delivering pizza from all the time you spent. $1 million starts the bare minimum level of success in business and investments no matter what you start with IMO.

We must be living in different realms of existence if you think that $100k a year isn't a decent salary, especially for sitting at home on your ass doing something you love (domaining). If I ever achieve $100k a year from domaining, believe me, that would be absolute success in my eyes. And I'm not talking about 5-10k over a few years, but in the first year. For someone just starting out with very little money ($xx-low xxx), that is success. Especially considering the learning curve and the number of people who fail miserably at this business. As far as I am concerned, anyone who makes a nice profit and is satisfied with the current progress of their business development is a success story.

 

[Dan]

nrmillions, I can tell from your attitude that you're making millions per year with your $20 sales and names with 17k OVT!! $100k/yr is a great salary for domaining.

With a "real" job that makes a lot of money, a million dollars still takes years to reach.

Persons with doctoral degrees earn an average of $3.4 million during their working life, while those with professional degrees do best at $4.4 million.

 

[deu12000]

I would be one of the people who says they arent a success at all. Everyone measures success in different amounts though. $100k is not even a decent 1 year salary so making a total of $100k in your entire time domaining is not a success. It would of course be nice to make an extra $100k domaining but I dont think it means you are successful. Spending a few years and a ton of time domaining just to make $5k or $10k profit is not worth it IMO, you can make more from having an extra part-time job delivering pizza from all the time you spent. $1 million starts the bare minimum level of success in business and investments no matter what you start with IMO.

I think $100,000 is a very decent yearly salary. The only way you don't look at it that way is if you never had to work in your life. Of course making more is better and 100K shouldn't be your life target goal, but it is a very decent salary if you started in the working world and weren't given most of your money.

Of course I think millionaire domainers could make for an interesting list whether they were given the money or they earned it.

Dan those are lifetime averages. So if they worked for 30 years (30-60 years old) it would average to 100K give or take. What about their teens and 20's (they made nothing or little)? I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my ass so I had to earn every penny I made and started working at 14. The big money (a lot of times) goes to entrepeneurs and people that take risks in life. By the way this last part wasn't meant to be mean to you or judgemental, but some people start working early and I know doctors and other professionals who started working when they were pre-teen age. It was more to show other people that 100K is a decent yearly salary if you worked for a living.

Your lifestyle usually outgrows your salary no matter how much you make, but that's another story.