I hope you had an opportunity to watch ABC-TV's latest episode of Secret Millionaire that aired last night (Sunday, March 27). The reality show focuses on successful but selfless people

who go out of their way to share their good fortune with people in need. Sunday night's one-hour episode (currently available at this link on Hulu.com in case you missed it) focused on Domain Holdings Group Co-Founder John Ferber (we just published a new feature story about Domain Holdings today). 

John made his fortune when he and his brother Scott built Advertising.com into an internet powerhouse then sold the company to America Online for $435 million in cash in 2004. There was no longer any need for Ferber to work a day in his life, but he is not one to sit still, so he joined domain pioneer Chad Folkening and another very successful internet entrepreneur, Erik Simons, to found domain development, SEO and monetization company Domain Holdings Group, LLC last year. 

The Baltimore-born Ferber also plunged headlong into philanthropy in 2007 when he founded Microgiving.com, a unique website 

John Ferber, Co-Founder, 
Domain Holdings Group, LLC  

that enables people to raise money online to fund a project, cause or entrepreneurial idea and give a percent of what you raise directly to a charity, cause, individual or family in need.

On the Secret Millionaire episode, Ferber is seen spending five days on Los Angeles's notorious Skid Row where he sought out people and organizations in need. He wound up writing checks totaling  $100,000 and donating many thousands of dollars worth of additional goods and services to help people in that severely distressed community. When you see how much his help meant to those people you can't help but wipe a tear or two from your own eyes and wonder what more you could be doing to make the world a better place for people who literally have nothing.

I first had the pleasure of meeting John during DNCruise last September and am looking forward to seeing again Thursday night (March 31, 2011) when he is graciously hosting a meeting of the South Florida Domainers Group at his Boynton Beach home. Everyone who has met him will tell you that  John is a truly nice guy. But he is much more than that. Though just 37 years old, he has already discovered a truth that most people never realize and he stated it succinctly in his final comment on the ABC show when he said, "If you want to feel good about yourself, go out and help somebody else." 

(Posted March 28, 2011)