He has all the riches he could ever
dream for in this life. But to avoid any risk of missing out in the
afterlife, wealthy entrepreneur 'Count Scarpa' is burying his greatest
treasure - his new £310,000 Bentley convertible.
In a bizarre announcement on his
Facebook page the 62-year-old declared that he plans to do as the
Pharaohs of Egypt did and take his riches with him when he dies by
burying them.
So tomorrow, he will entomb his
brand new Bentley Continental worth over £310,000 to make sure he has a
comfortable journey into the ‘other side’. The funeral ceremony, he
promises, will be at 11am.
His Bentley is his prized
possession, so he's burying it, inspired by the Egyptian Pharaohs, in
the hope of having it in his afterlife
In a photo on his social network
site Count Scarpa stands beside his black Flying Spur, the latest model
on the market, with a cockatoo on his arm and writes: 'I decided to do
as the Pharaohs: this week I will bury my favourite car, the Bentley
here in the home garden! Bury my treasure in my palace rssss !!!'
He says he’s digging the grave in the back garden of his mansion in Jardins, one of the wealthiest neighbourhoods in Sao Paulo.
On Tuesday, in another photo,
sporting a pink tie, with his foot on a shovel, he stands in front of a
deep hole with his shining Bentley parked behind him and warns: 'For
those who doubt me, yesterday I already started making the hole in the
garden to bury my Bentley! By the end of the week I will bury it'
The self-made businessman, who has a
degree in economics and is a black belt instructor and owner of the
Institute Maruyama Aikido, a Japanese martial arts academy, explains
that his decision to start storing up his treasures for the life beyond
came after watching a programme on Ancient Egypt on Sunday.
'I was watching a documentary about
the pharaohs of Egypt, very interesting. They buried his entire fortune
to have a comfortable life "the other side"!' he says.
Will he bury his parrot? After
watching a documentary on Egypt on Sunday, he says he is completely
serious and is going ahead with his car's funeral tomorrow. There was no
mention of whether he wants his pet bird in the afterlife too
By Tuesday his decision to bury his Bentley had received over 5680 likes and more than 6000 shares.
On Wednesday, a new photo appeared
updating his plans and shows just how serious he is. He’s pictured
operating an excavator, in a cream coloured suit and lime green tie. It
looks like he’s spent quite a few hours digging the grave. In front of
him is very deep hole with a huge pile of dirt beside it.
On the same day he reveals that he’s
appearing on a satirical talk show on Bandeirantes television, hosted
by Danilo Gentili – photographed with him, to talk about the funeral of
his beloved Bentley.
In the TV interview he explains to
viewers that he was travelling back from his farm after celebrating his
birthday on Sunday and started thinking about how the pharaohs were
buried with the most precious items in their life.
“I watched the film of the pharaohs
and after seeing how they were buried with their treasures I decided
that I wanted to copy them and bury my most precious item, which is my
car,” he says.
In between his explanation, viewers
tweet their comments. One says wryly: 'Chiquinho, is it true you want to
bury your imported car because you don’t want to pay your taxes?'
'No,' he answers straight-faced. 'I’ve already shown all my documents to the authorities before doing the funeral.'
Another asks if he wants to adopt a
family from Brasilia. He says he’s currently single and doesn’t want a
family. A lot of the comments are however, very critical and accuse him
of wasting money. Instead of burying his car he should donate the
proceeds to help Brazilian people. ‘Maria Lucia’ sends a message
begging Scarpa to send the car to her as she needs the cash.
Scarpa has had a brush with death a
few times, having been in a coma with a superbug, so he's hyper-alert to
preparing for what comes after life
Others are sarcastic: 'This is
nothing new. Chiquinho may be burying his car but the Brazilian
government has buried the Brazilian people,' says one referring to
corruption and the wealth of the nation being 'buried' in the pockets of
bent politicians.
Scarpa says he is not one of these corrupt individuals and has paid all his taxes, never been in debt or been bankrupt.
‘Alex’ on the other hand agrees with
the crazy decision and tweets: 'I think you should do what you want to
do, because it shows that you cannot take anything with you from this
life and you might as well enjoy the idea of doing so. However, if you
would like to help me with the social project I’m running, I would be
very grateful.'
Scarpa is not new to the idea of
facing death. In 2009 he was in a coma for over two months after a
superbug nearly killed him following a stomach reduction operation. He
‘died’ twice during the ordeal and was given the last rites on both
occasions by a priest.
In an interview with celebrity
magazine, Caras, in January this year he said: 'When I had the surgery, I
got a very strong bacteria that killed several people.
Count Scarpa says he was inspired to
bury his most treasured possession after watching a documentary on
Sunday about the Egyptian Pharaohs
The treasures buried with King
Tutankhamun, pictured left in the Valley of Kings, and right, his
exhibited gold mask, were believed to travel with the dead to their next
life
'I was in a coma for 63 days; the
doctor told me he had 'opened' me eight times. I came close to death
twice. The priest gave me two anointings. This was all because of
bacteria. I took it and got away with it. Unfortunately this was not the
case with my mother. She had an operation on her femur, got the
bacterium and died in February 2012. I am strong,' he adds.
Scarpa lives in one of the most
expensive areas in Sao Paulo in a property spanning more than 14000m2.
He inherited his title from his Italian-born father Count Francisco
Scarpa who was given the honour by Pope Pius XII in 1949, for his
charitable contributions to society.
The eccentric businessman benefitted
from his father’s wealth and made his fortune from the brewery and
mining industry. He now runs an investment company and has been married
twice. His first wife died and he is divorced from the second.
He has even met Chelsea Football
Club owner, Russian businessman, Roman Abramovich who invited him to
visit his yacht in Capri, Italy, for dinner two years ago.
With no children to carry on the
family name Scarpa says his cockatoo, which is perched on his arm in the
facebook picture showing him standing beside his Bentley, is his
offspring.
'This here is my "daughter",' he
said in the interview with Caras. 'She is called Filomena Leopoldina
Sofia Scarpa. She is six-months-old and is endangered,' he said.
The white cockatoo – which even has
her own business card - is one of the most expensive birds in the world
costing around £14,000.
The Pharaohs were known for burying
their beloved pets with them so they could enjoy their company in the
afterlife. So far Scarpa hasn’t said whether he plans to do the same
with Filomena.
Joyous
occasion: Alan Bates had walked his daughter Charlotte down the aisle
to marry her husband Steve Galbraith that very same day
Beloved father: Mrs Galbraith said she was proud her daughter saw her on her big day and has raised funds in his memory
