Saeed Abdel Ghaffar Khouri UAE resident who paid $14.2 million for a license plate Country: UAE

Biography of Saeed Abdel Ghaffar Khouri

Saeed Abdel Ghaffar Khouri, a resident of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is known as one of the wealthiest individuals in the world. He recently made headlines with his remarkable acquisition. At a charity auction, Saeed purchased a license plate for his car with the number '1' for an astonishing amount of over $14 million, or 52.2 million dirhams. This license plate is truly exceptional, as regular plates in the UAE consist of five digits, while Saeed's new plate features just a single digit, symbolizing his status as number one.

The auction took place at the luxurious Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, and all the proceeds will go towards the construction of a specialized emergency medical hospital, which Saeed is actively involved in. It is worth noting that Saeed has no intention of selling the car for which he bought the license plate.

This purchase set a new record for the highest price ever paid for a license plate, with no one ever having paid $14 million for a number, even with the prestigious '1' digit. Saeed later confessed that he attended the auction with the intention to win and was prepared to pay almost any amount, as he is not accustomed to losing. Interestingly, he expected the price to be approximately twice as high, so the $14 million turned out to be somewhat of a gift for him.

It is said that this license plate is the third one with a single digit to adorn the Khouri family's cars. In general, license plates with one digit from '1' to '10' are considered a sign of immense wealth in the UAE and are highly sought after. Auctions selling such plates usually operate for charitable purposes, with the forthcoming medical hospital specifically focusing on providing aid to victims of road accidents.

In a previous auction, Saeed's brother, Talal Ali Mohammad Khouri, won the bid for a license plate with the number '5' for 25.2 million dirhams, which is half the amount paid by Saeed. However, it is only natural that the number '1' holds greater value by definition. Thus, Saeed Abdel Ghaffar Khouri did not hesitate to spend over $14 million to assert his status as the number one on the roads of the United Arab Emirates, setting a new world record for the highest amount paid for a license plate in the automotive world.