Man Pays $13 Million for Sex! (.com)

The domain “sex.com” has recently been sold and it reached the highest amount ever paid for a domain. Escom, its last owner, went into bankruptcy. The domain was Escom’s property so it went to auction in July. Clover Holdings, a company registered in the Caribbean nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, submitted the winning bid: $13 million dollars.

Originally registered by Match.com‘s Gary Kremen. After registering it in 1994, a con man named Stephen Cohen nabbed it. It took Kremen years to win the domain back and Cohen eventually was convicted, sentenced to a jail term and fined $65 million. When Escom bought the domain in 2006, it paid around the same price.

Not much is known of Clover Holdings. Its country of origin is a well-known center for offshore businesses. The sale is dependent on approval from the bankruptcy judge.

There have been higher prices paid for web addresses, but those prices were not for the domains alone. QuinStreet bought internet.com for $18 million and insure.com for $16 in 2009. Both of those came with additional property.

Here is a list Domain Name Journal put together, published on ABCNews.com of the top prices paid in domain-only transactions.