[t0]

Exactly. Most of that $15 goes directly to ICANN and Verisign. http://www.hostly.com/hosting-info/much-domain-names-cost-15...

[gacba]

Not quite.

ICANN Fees

ICANN charges a fee for each domain name registered. The fee is 20 cents per domain.

The domain registrars pay additional fees to ICANN, but it's hardly anywhere near the 90+% you quoted.