ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (Feb. 16) – A license plate with nothing but the number “1” on it went for a record $14 million at a charity auction Saturday.
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Manuel Salazar, AP
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A wealthy Abu Dhabi man shelled out $14 million for a vanity license plate with just one number on it — “1” — shattering the previous record of $6.8 million paid for a plate with “5” on it. In total, 90 license plates were auctioned off for $24 million.
Saeed Khouri, a member of a wealthy Abu Dhabi family, wouldn’t say how many automobiles he owned or which of them might carry the record-breaking single-digit plate.”I bought it because it’s the best number,” said Khouri, whose family made its fortune in real estate. “I bought it because I want to be the best in the world.”
The oil-rich UAE began auctioning off vanity license plates last May.
Ordinary automobile license plates issued to drivers here – and even most other vanity series plates – carry both Arabic and Western numerals and script, defining the issuing city and country.
Khouri’s plate, however, has only the Western numeral and no letters.
