Where Our Money Is Going - No Lie

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Here is the first part of the story...

 

A license plate with nothing but the number "1" on it went for a record $14 million at a charity auction in the United Arab Emirates.

 

Saeed Abdel 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 with money going to a rehabilitation center for victims of traffic accidents.

 

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.

 

The record sale surpassed the $6.8 million that was paid for an Emirati license plate at an earlier auction with the Western number 5 on it -- also without Arabic numerals or letters.

 

On Saturday, 90 license plates were auctioned off in all, raising a total of $24 million. The previous five such events raised more than $50 million.

 

 

 

Here is the Second Part

 

As the wealthiest Emirate, Abu Dhabi is the richest city in the world. The average net worth for Abu Dhabi's 420,000 citizens is $17 million (AED 62 million), and more than $1 trillion is invested worldwide in this city alone.

 

Abu Dhabi (Arabic: أبو ظبي‎ transliteration: abū ābī, literally Father of gazelle) is the capital and second most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is also the seat of government of the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The city lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western coast. Approximately 900,000 people lived in Abu Dhabi 2008, of whom 80% were expatriates. One of the world's largest producers of oil, Abu Dhabi has actively attempted to diversfy its economy in recent years through investments in financial services and tourism. Abu Dhabi is ruled by Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also the President of the UAE.