Planet Money: The Million Dollar Mystery Behind Milk.com

Podcast: Planet Money (NPR)
Episode Date: September 3, 2025
Hosts: Jeff Guo (A), Alex Mayassi (B)
Featured Guests:

• Rob Schutz, Domain Broker (C)
• Rick Schwartz, "Domain King" (D)
• Dan Borenstein, Owner of Milk.com (E)

Overview

In this episode, Planet Money investigates the curious case of Milk.com: a humble, 1990s-style personal webpage that sits atop a massive fortune in “internet real estate.” The hosts, Jeff and Alex, explore the economics of domain names, why certain domains remain unused, and what drives people like Dan Borenstein (the owner of Milk.com) to hold onto prized digital addresses instead of cashing in. Along the way, they introduce listeners to the hidden world where words can be worth millions.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Mystery of Milk.com’s Simplicity

Timestamps: 00:13–02:27

• Alex stumbles onto Milk.com: "It feels like walking through downtown Manhattan...and then I see a little shack. Milk.com is that shack. What is the deal with milk.com? Why didn’t a developer buy that shack, demolish it, and build a high rise?" (B, 01:42)
• The site is a personal project by Dan Borenstein featuring his resume and recipes—no commercialization, no flashy modern design.

2. The Value of Domain Names

Timestamps: 02:47–04:17

• Domain sales cited: Chocolate.com sold for over $1 million; Bagels.com for $500,000.
• Rob Schutz, domain broker, shares:
  • "You’ll have really smart...people...come into this world and they're like, I’ll pay $50,000 for this thing. You’re like, that’s a $10 million domain name." (C, 02:59)
• Not all domains are valuable; most can be registered for under $100.

3. What Makes a Domain Valuable?

Timestamps: 04:17–08:48

• Categories:
  • Keyword domains: Good for SEO in early internet days (e.g., buyshoesonline.com).
  • Brandable domains: Short, memorable (e.g., zoom.com, apple.com) are becoming more sought after due to changing internet habits.
• Radio test: "If you said the domain on the radio and you say, visit phil.com...how’s that spelled?" (C, 05:46)
• Domains can be essential for legitimacy and reputation:
  • "If you have that one word, dot com, you’re a real company." (C, 07:08)
• Costly signaling: Owning an expensive domain is like running a Super Bowl ad in terms of perceived market power.

4. Who Owns the Valuable Domains?

Timestamps: 09:09–13:49

• Domain investors hold on for big payoffs:
  • Interview with Rick Schwartz, the "Domain King."
    • "Let me tell you something. The most important, the most powerful word...is two letters. It’s called 'no, no.' You have to learn how to say no." (D, 11:56)
  • Rick once rejected a seven-figure ($1M+) offer.
  • "If you have 100 Ferraris in your garage, are you going to sell them for $1,000 each?" (D, 12:35)
• Holding costs are low: Domain renewal fees are only $10–$100 per year, making speculative holding easy.

5. Tracking Down Dan Borenstein, the Milk.com “Milk Boy”

Timestamps: 14:33–19:42

• Dan’s origin story:
  • Chose milk.com in 1994 for a personal email, inspired by a work nickname, “Milk Boy.”
  • Domains then were free; he had to write a simple justification for the name.
  • "It was a green field." (E, 15:41)
• His motivation: Purely personal and nostalgic.
  • "I just want to live my life." (E, 17:44)

Offers to Buy

• Dan has received offers—one for $100,000, which he rejected.
• On his website: “Milk not for sale. If you’re not offering $10 million, I’m not interested.”
  • "Is it for sale or not?" (B, 17:35)
  • "There is a price, but...I’m not trying to get it." (E, 17:44)
  • “A $100,000 offer: definitely lowball. $10 million offer: definitely take. Between the two, I don’t know.” (E, 18:17)
• Emotional vs. economic logic: Dan loves being Milk Boy, and the quirky legacy of his site.

6. The Internet’s Changing Landscape

Timestamps: 18:51–19:42

• Milk.com as a "relic of the ’90s"; the internet was once a quirky neighborhood of personal sites, now replaced by corporate high-rises.
  • "It feels like this relic of the ’90s when the Internet was a quirky neighborhood... But Dan's milk.com is still there, like a historically preserved building from the Internet’s early days." (B, 19:15)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "The answer was always moo. Moo all the way down. Right." (A, 01:15)
  — On Milk.com’s whimsical FAQ section.

• “I'm not going to undervalue my own stuff. Listen, if you have 100 Ferraris in your garage, are you going to sell them for $1,000 each?” (D, 12:35)
  — Rick Schwartz explaining domain owner logic.

• "There's a million companies that use milk or just are called milk already... Lots of people that would want this, right? It's just a matter of do their budgets align with what the seller's expectations are." (C, 08:25)

• "There's a price, but...I just want to live my life." (E, 17:44)
  — Dan Borenstein on whether he’ll ever sell Milk.com.

• “If one day I visit milk.com and it’s full of Got Milk ads or it’s the website of a tech startup, I will be sad. I love Dan’s Milk.com...” (B, 18:51)
  — Nostalgia for the web’s quirky early days.

Important Segment Timestamps

• [00:13] — Intro to the Milk.com mystery
• [02:47] — Domain value (Rob Schutz interview begins)
• [06:24] — The Ring.com story
• [09:09] — Who owns valuable domains (domain investors, corporates, individuals)
• [10:05] — "Domain King" Rick Schwartz interview
• [14:33] — Dan Borenstein (“Milk Boy”) interviewed
• [17:44] — Dan on selling price and motivation
• [19:15] — Reflection on Milk.com’s place in internet history

Tone & Language

The conversation is playful, curious, and frequently witty—especially when exploring the absurdities and quirks of internet culture and economics. The nostalgia for the early web mixes with frank economic logic and colorful metaphors ("the shack among skyscrapers").

Summary

The episode uses the story of Milk.com as a lens to explore why so many valuable domain names are left unused, how the market for domains works, and what motivates people to hang onto these digital assets despite million-dollar offers. The hosts underscore the quirks of digital real estate, the emotional (and sometimes stubborn) logic of domain owners, and how a website like Milk.com can act as a time capsule for a lost era of the internet.