While here in the U.S. you can get a personalized license plate, having “ILUVCHEEZ” on your bumpers won’t break the bank. Outside of the U.S., however, there are folks willing to drop millions to get just the right message on their luxury vehicles.

Like the property developer in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, who wanted a license plate bearing only the number “5” so badly, he bid 33 million dirhams — $9 million or so — to get it at a government auction this month, CNNMoney reports (warning: link contains video that auto plays).

That still isn’t as much as the $14 million an Abu Dhabi businessman spent on a plate in 2008, however.

The new owner of the plate says some folks are accusing him of wasting money, because, well, $9 million is not a petty sum.

“It’s hard, people giving comments without knowing the type of person I am,” he told CNNMoney, describing himself as “a simple man.”

He says that because Dubai doesn’t have income tax, he sees the price he paid for the plate as a contribution to the public coffers and will go toward things like charity and improving the city’s infrastructure.

“I believe in giving back,” he said. “This city has given me a lot.”

Meet the man who spent $9 million on a license plate [CNNMoney]

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