The Thin Line Between Vanity and Insanity: Emirati Man Pays $5 Million For Number 1 License Plate

An Emirati man has taken vanity to a disgusting extreme — spending $5 million for a plate with the number 1 on it. For the vast majority of people struggling to feed their families, the auction price is obscene. Yet for local businessman, Arif Ahmad Al Zarouni, it was just something that he had to have as a matter of pride.

Zarouni explained that “I attended the license plate auction only to win number 1. My ambition is always to be number 1.” Of course, he could have had the ambition to use $5 million to hire hundreds of teachers or create a medical clinic but some people set their goals quite low in life.

Other buyers paid out huge sums for plates reading 333, 777, 2016, 99999, and other notable numbers. What is even more notable is that Zarouni got a bargain at $5 million in comparison to the sale of plate number 1 in Dubai for $14 million.