If the focus wasn’t on Abu Dhabi earlier it certainly is now since the purchase of the Manchester City Football Club and the splashing out to draw Robinho into the Manchester/Abu Dhabi fold.Journos are flocking to the capital of the Emirates in search of motives, signs and wonders. They write of the lavish lifestyles of the Abu Dhabi oil barons, typified by the Bugattis and limos outside the Palace.
If the wealthy members of the royal family are seeking to bring ‘glory’ to their city they are at least capturing attention.
While the Footy Club purchase has galvanized the attention reporters are noting the recent purchase of the Chrysler Building in Manhattan, the $7bn chunk of America's biggest bank Citigroup, the Guggenheim branch, the Louvre franchise, the film studios, the Formula One racing circuit.
But that’s not all. There’s more on the shopping list.
Check out the article in which Frank Kane notes not only the purchases but the way that wealth is changing the social and religious landscape of the Emirates.
Link: Frank Kane, ‘The Gulf's new bling kings’, The Guardian, 7 September 2008.
Dr Geoff Pound
Image: A Pur Sang Bugatti Veyron in Abu Dhabi. It is one of a handful in the world and it costs a mere $1.4 Million.
If you’d like to see the Abu Dhabi owner drive this car and hear its throaty sound check out the video clip at this link.
