A license plate was sold for 55 million dirhams, or 13.7 million euros, at a charity auction held in Dubai (United Arab Emirates) on Saturday, April 8, 2023. This is a world record for a license plate, reports the local newspaper The National relayed by Ouest-France. Behind this sale hides a practice that has become increasingly common among Dubai's mega-rich.


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The auction was organised by Emirates Auction to benefit the 1 Billion Meals Endowment campaign "which aims to create the largest sustainable food aid endowment fund for Ramadan", as Emirates Auction explained on Instagram. In total, 100 million dirhams (24.9 million euros) were raised during this evening of the Most Noble Numbers of the foundation of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emir of Dubai and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates.


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Prestigious plaques

During this event, other plaques were also sold. According to Bloomberg, some particular plates are very "prized by the ultra-rich to display their status and wealth" in Dubai. P7, the plate sold for 13.7 million euros, has for example the particularity of having in total only one digit (7) and only one letter (P). The 7 is also one of the lucky numbers of Islam, according to the International Courier.

The previous record was in 2008, with a P1 plate that was obtained by a businessman for 52.2 million dirhams (13 million euros). Indian businessman Balvinder Singh Sahni, also known as Abu Sabah, bought a D5 plate for 33 million dirhams (8.2 million euros) in 2016, according to Le Point. He made the purchase after being denied access to the luxury Burj al-Arab hotel because of a plaque that "had too many numbers," according to Bloomberg. This practice for the ultra-rich is not limited to Dubai. Last February, an "R" plate was sold for nearly 3 million euros at auction by the Hong Kong government.

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