The vehicle registration system in Switzerland can be the protagonist of a millionaire inheritance. Unlike the rest of the European Union, the small Alpine country registers people rather than vehicles, making badges inheritable.
The Swiss government is the owner of the license plates it assigns to the vehicle owner. Therefore, every time the owner changes his car, he keeps the license plate and there is the possibility of transferring it between members of the same family. This particular system has made having license plates with a few digits or with original numbers an object of desire for the wealthiest or even a symbol of social status.
Precisely, this March the industrialist Otto Ruppen paid 160,100 francs for the VS 1 registration, which corresponds to the Canton of Valais. Each of the license plates of this Central European country consists of the initials of one of the Swiss cantons and a number of up to five figures.
“It’s a matter of prestige,” said Stefan Cardinale, who works at a dealership that sells Ferraris and Maseratis in Zug, a canton known for its wealth and low taxes. “People who invest in flashy tires want the world to see how awesome they are.”
Despite these 160,100 francs, the Swiss millionaires are still far from the astronomical numbers reached by the single-digit license plate auction in Dubai. In one of the last, a real estate developer from this city but of Indian origin, Balwinder Sahni, paid nine million dollars for the number ‘5’ license plate.
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