[Little Ray]

I believe that, sooner or later, everything you discover has monetary value...

[ivyleaguebrat]

Even if that is true, shareholders tend to demand a more specific timeframe than “sooner or later.”

And I would disagree. I would suggest that the vast majority of discoveries—from the discovery of novel fundamental particles to the characterization of distant star systems—will not lead to a profitable application within 100 years (if ever).