• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Man who bought pizza.com domain for $20 sold it for a fortune after putting it up for auction

Home> News> Money

Published 18:50 7 Nov 2024 GMT

Man who bought pizza.com domain for $20 sold it for a fortune after putting it up for auction

He made so much, we're sure he'd be able to enjoy an early retirement

Joe Yates

Joe Yates

If you search pizza.com, you'd be shocked to see that it's not really been updated for more than a decade.

Which, if you didn't know just how much was splashed on it, you'd understand these things happen... but maybe they shouldn't, especially if it cost the owner more than a million dollars.

Chris Clark took to his computer back in 1994 to set up 'pizza.com' - and what an investment it turned out to be (Getty stock)
Chris Clark took to his computer back in 1994 to set up 'pizza.com' - and what an investment it turned out to be (Getty stock)

The website is pretty basic and certainly dated; when I Googled it, I was expecting one of the big pizza giants to own it, like Domino's or Papa John's, but no fast food chain does.

Advert

Instead, it is filled with adverts linking to companies like Deliveroo, but the most interesting thing I discovered was that there's a phone number and an email at the bottom of the web page with the words: "Inquire about this domain."

Now you know its dire state - please don't take offense if you own pizza.com, I'm sure you understand - I'll fill you in with the context and how an American man, Chris Clark, became a millionaire.

Back in 1994, he registered the domain name as the internet was starting to take form - hoping that it'd help land a contract with a pizza company for his consulting firm.

Chris Clark became a millionaire after registering the domain pizza.com on the world wide web (LinkedIn/CHRIS CLARK)
Chris Clark became a millionaire after registering the domain pizza.com on the world wide web (LinkedIn/CHRIS CLARK)

Advert

His consultancy business was later sold in 2000, but he opted to continue paying the annual fee of $20 for maintaining it.

All he really used it for at the time was pedal advertisements.

Fast-forward to January 2008, a 43-year-old Clark - who lived in North Potomac, Maryland, before relocating to Washington DC in recent years - decided to see how much he could sell pizza.com for after hearing vodka.com went for $3 million in 2006.

Speaking per the BBC, he said: "I thought, 'Why don't I just try to see what the level of interest is?'

Advert

"If someone's willing to pay that much for Vodka.com, maybe there's more interest in pizza.com."

He listed it in an online auction two months later, and the offers soon rolled in.

You'd be happy to pay millions for a lifetime supply of pizza... not for a website! (Getty stock)
You'd be happy to pay millions for a lifetime supply of pizza... not for a website! (Getty stock)

The first bid was $100, which was a sign of things to come, as it soon leapt to a staggering $2.6 million just a week later.

Advert

Now, you've got to remember that the sale went through during the financial crash of '08, so for someone to bid so much for the website just emphasized how incredible the transaction was.

Clark told the Baltimore Sun newspaper that he regretted not registering more domain names when the world wide web was just starting out - I mean, I get him, but that's just being greedy!

I'm sure Clark, who I'd assume is 70 this year, doesn't have any regrets anymore - go enjoy retirement!

Featured Image Credit: LinkedIn/Chris Clark/Getty Stock Image

Topics: Business, Money, Technology, Viral, Weird

Joe Yates
Joe Yates

Joe is a journalist for UNILAD, who particularly enjoys writing about crime. He has worked in journalism for five years, and has covered everything from murder trials to celeb news.

X

@JMYjourno

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

11 hours ago
12 hours ago
  • 11 hours ago

    Doctor, 66, reveals one thing he wished he knew in his 30s that could have major health benefits

    Dr Mark Burhenne explained why it's a game-changer

    News
  • 11 hours ago

    Trump makes shocking 'power move' and flies nuclear bombers over Putin's head at meeting

    The 'high-stakes' meeting is underway and with it so too are the power plays

    News
  • 11 hours ago

    People shocked at Trump's 'yank' handshake with Putin and think they know who asserted 'dominance'

    Trump has been accused of making an early power play

    News
  • 12 hours ago

    Woman praised for getting 'petty revenge' on neighbor who kept stealing her packages

    The 29-year-old plotted the perfect way to get revenge that had her thieving neighbor audibly screaming after swiping one of her packages

    News
  • Kodak gives sad update after one fatal mistake turned it from a $31,000,000,000 photography company to bankrupt
  • Morgan Freeman could have made a small fortune with Tesla stock he bought due to Elon Musk
  • Man who bought Bitcoin for 20 cents made $95,268,880 mistake after wiping computer
  • Friends sold side hustle for $150,000 after starting it using just AI and $185