"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.
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.
Proceeds from the auctions, which are held in a lavish hotel here, go to a rehabilitation center for victims of traffic accidents.
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.
