There are a lot of different ways to make money in times of fear. A company in Nevada has apparently found its own way, now that more than 4000 people have died from Ebola and the world is in a state of panic. Blue String Ventures owns the domain name Ebola.com, and it’s offering to sell it for $US150,000.
“Ebola.com would be a great domain for a pharmaceutical company working on a vaccine or cure, a company selling pandemic or disaster-preparedness supplies, or a medical company wishing to provide information and advertise services,” the president of Blue String Ventures, Jon Schultz, told CNBC via email.
Apparently Schultz bought the domain in 2008 with his business partner Chris Hood. They’re also the proud owners of BirdFlu.com, Fukushima.com and PotassiumIodide.com, among a host of others. Potassium iodide is a compound that would be used to fight radiation-induced cancer in the case of a bioterrorism or nuclear attack.
It could not be confirmed at press time whether Schultz and Hood’s respective mothers were embarrassed that their sons were opportunistic pieces of human garbage who profit from the fears of others and contribute nothing of value to society.
[CNBC via Foreign Policy]
Picture: Health workers in Liberia on October 13, 2014 (Getty)