License plate number ’1′ sells for a cool $14 million
Nowhere is the craze for a unique number plate more intense than in the United Arab Emirates, the oil rich Persian Gulf nation that holds the world record for the six most expensive plates.
The vehicle license plate displaying just the single number ’1′ sold for $14 million in an auction earlier this year. This was a record breaking sale for vehicle license plates. The owner of this number ’1′ plate is someone named Saeed Abdul Ghaffar Khouri.
In the United Arab Emirates it’s all about how low you can go, with people battling it out at auctions to win the chance to show off license plates with the lowest digit.
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The numbers ’5′ and ’7′ have already been snapped up which sold for 25 million dirhams ($6.75 million) and 11 million dirhams ($2.97 million) respectively.
“The lower the number goes, the higher the price goes also,” said Abdullah Al Mannaei who runs the license plate auctions in the capital city Abu Dhabi.
It is no surprise that license plate craze has such a grip on the United Arab Emirates. The tiny nation, slightly smaller than the US state of Maine is prone to thinking big.
It is already home to the world’s largest mall, the world’s largest tower, and also despite being in the Middle East, boasts the largest indoor snow park in the world.
Talal Khouri, a stock broker in Abu Dhabi is the proud owner of ’5′ and ’7′ he sheepishly admits that yes, it’s a status thing.
See the video footage of the number ’5′ plate below.
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The license plate ’5′ hangs from his shiny red Rolls Royce, an expensive luxury car but still 10 times less than the plate itself.
It’s not all ego though, the money that the government raises auctioning off plates goes to a fund that helps victims of car accidents. Abu Dhabi has held five such auctions selling 300 plates and raising an astonishing $56 million.
For the business savvy, like back in the UK, there is also an added attraction, the investment potential.
“I have a number plate on my car which was worth 35,000 (dirhams) four years ago,” Al Mannaei said “And I have an offer now for 400,000.”
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