1.

EVERYDAY MONEY
2. BILLIONAIRES

Meet the Billionaire Sheikh Who Built the

World's Largest Truck and Once Carved His
Name Into His Own Private Island
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3 CARS OF THE KARDASHIAN-JENNER FAMILY
By PAUL SCHRODT
October 18, 2018

Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan is known as the Rainbow Sheikh, but not
because he’s a public supporter of LGBTQ rights. The member of one of the
United Arab Emirates’ ruling families, the Al Nahyan clan based in Abu
Dhabi, has a vast car collection that reportedly includes seven Mercedes S-
Classes in different colors, and the full spectrum of light makes its way to
other vehicles in his fleet.

Though he’s a billionaire with major influence in the UAE’s capital, Hamad
is at least as well-known for his eccentric spending habits, automotive and
otherwise. Not unlike a Middle Eastern Jay Leno, Hamad has spent spent
recent years amassing more and more rare and esoteric vehicles. According
to Business Insider, which got a look at the goods, he has several vintage
Mini Coopers, what appears to be a replica of an 1885 Benz Patent
Motorwagen—widely considered the first ever car—and the only SUV
Lamborghini has made.

He tends to like his cars a little bigger, however. He built the largest truck in
existence, a version of the Dodge Power Wagon 64 times larger than the
original with an entire apartment inside, which the BBC covered. Business
Insider spotted Hamad’s Mercedes W128, actually the shell of that car,
sitting on wheels fit for a monster truck. (He has a special fondness for
Mercedes, and the brand’s fans seem to be just as taken with him online.)
That unlikely hybrid was discovered outside the Emirates National Auto
Museum in Abu Dhabi, home to the vehicles of none other than the Rainbow
Sheikh himself.

The UAE’s Wheels magazine recently featured Hamad with three off-roading
vehicles, customized in his own workshop, that he brought to the Gulf News
Fun Drive event, in which participants show off their hulking rides in the
middle of the desert. The sheikh also has a penchant for sharing his
enthusiasms on his Instagram account, which is almost entirely devoted to
transportation. It features everything from a massive white Ford truck in
sand dunes and a 1959 Pontiac Bonneville to a sleek boat.

While Hamad stays relatively under the radar apart from his hobbies,
according to The Daily Mail, his personal fortune nearly rivals the Saudi
king’s, and he’s a medical philanthropist. But he’s an icon nonetheless in his
native region. With a net worth estimated at $20 billion and a castle for his
home, he’s not hurting. Hamad’s money pile comes from his family’s control
over Abu Dhabi’s oil deposits, which comprise 95% of the UAE’s oil.
His oddball projects also extend beyond road and track. He made news
across the world in 2011 when he reportedly had workmen carve his name
into his own private island in the UAE called Al Futaisi, forming wa terways
in the sand. The Atlantic confirmed that the name’s enormous letters were
actually visible from space. (The display has since been scrubbed.)
Apparently Hamad shares Texans’ belief in making everything bigger.

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