For all the times you’ve typed “google.com” into a web browser, you probably never stopped to think about what it might mean to own that domain — or own it very briefly and then sell it back to Google. One man found out, as was reported last year, and now the price Google paid has been revealed.
Ex-Google employee Samnay Ved wrote in September about how a search on the Google Domains interface led him to discover that google.com was somehow available and his to purchase for just $12. Ved offered details on how he was essentially the Google webmaster for a very brief time before his transaction was cancelled and Google Security reached out to offer a reward for the domain.
Reports surfaced Thursday that the amount of the award was mentioned in a Google Security blog post titled Google Security Rewards — 2015 Year in Review. Ved was paid $6,006.13 — which you’re supposed to squint at so you can see the word “Google.” Cute! Now, if you squint at $50,800,545.27 you see the words “Holy $%#@ I’m rich!”
Ved told Business Insider in October that it was never about money. It’s about people who just want to “find bugs.”
Google ended up doubling the amount when Ved said he was donating it all to charity. The money went to The Art of Living India.
