The ridiculousness of the uber riche hit an all time high this week in Japan and Qatar with purchases that show stupidity rather than status.
Normally on the Good Life we highlight over-priced uber luxe living but millions for a special car number plate and thousands for two mangos…
Super-rich Qataris are splashing out millions on “fancy” car number plates in an online auction run by a government department.
So far, more than 4.2 million Qatari riyals ($1.1 million) has been pledged on just 24 separate and unique car registration numbers being auctioned by the interior ministry of the energy-rich state.
The bidding started on Tuesday afternoon and ends on Thursday night.
As in Dubai, owning a distinct number plate has become a desirable status symbol for Qataris to publicly show off their wealth.
Most in demand are those with fewer numbers — most ordinary Qatari registration plates have six figures — repeated digits, or those in sequence.
A previous auction for “fancy vehicle numbers” at the end of last year saw one driver bid a reported 200-million riyals (almost $55 million) for the number plate 333355.
Whereas a deep pocketed Japanese department store shelled out an eye-watering 300,000 yen ($2,500) Monday for a pair of mangoes, a record price for the second year in a row.
After the hammer fell at an auction in far-southern Miyazaki, the successful bidder airlifted the fruit to its luxury shop in Fukuoka, where they went on sale at a bargain 210,000 yen.
The mangoes — top-of-the-range “Taiyo no Tamago” (Egg of the Sun)-brand — were the first to go for auction this year, an occasion that usually attracts inflated prices.
To qualify as a “Taiyo no Tamago” mango, each fruit must weigh at least 350 grams (12 oz) and have a high sugar content.
While $2,500 is steep for a pair of mangoes, fruit is routinely expensive in Japan and it is not unusual for a single apple to cost upwards of $3.
This year’s must-have luxury fruit is a particular brand of strawberry, with a single berry currently selling for around $415.
However, all pale in comparison with the tear-inducing $25,000 price tag for a pair of cantaloupe melons auctioned in 2008.
rp AFP-relaxnews