Emirati Businessman Buys Car License Plate for $5 Million

An Emirati businessman paid nearly $5 million for a car registration plate bearing the number "1" during an auction held in the Emirate of Sharjah for distinctive license plates, according to local media reports on Sunday.

Gulf News quoted businessman Arif Ahmed Al Zarouni saying, "My ambition has always been to be number one," confirming that he was prepared to pay any price to acquire this number.

Al Zarouni paid AED 18 million, equivalent to $4.9 million USD, for the plate bearing the number one and the name of Sharjah Emirate during the auction held on Saturday.

The total proceeds from the auction, which included 60 plates, exceeded AED 50 million, or $13.6 million, according to the newspaper.

The auction featured plates with distinctive numbers such as "50," "333," and "1000."

Two plates bearing the numbers 12 and 22 were sold for over $560,000 each. More than 1,300 people participated in the auction.

The newspaper quoted the Executive Director of Emirates Auction as saying that the auction was "the largest in the UAE in terms of the number of bidders."

Several similar auctions have been held in recent years across various cities in the United Arab Emirates. A plate bearing the number "1," sold in Abu Dhabi in February 2008, holds the record for the most expensive registration plate sold at auction, fetching AED 52.2 million, or $14.2 million.

This article is translated and not the original content.