Mohammed al Fayed's Car Collection for Sale

Back in 2009, probably for the first time in history, being rich was much more complicated and painful than being poor. The crisis hit, and hit hard, especially those who had a hell of a lot to lose. Although it didn't kill anyone, the crisis managed to shake things into motion once again, opening the doors to previously undreamed of opportunities.

Last year, Egyptian-born billionaire Mohammed Al Fayed decided to sell the asset which made him famous, London's famed department store Harrods, for $2.2 billion. At the time, the reasons for selling the store cited by the tycoon's spokespeople were the need to be close to his children and retirement.

Now, less than a year later, we learn, thanks to the guys over at Luxist, that Al Fayed will be selling part of his car collection as well.

And what a car collection it is... : 1979 Ferrari 400i Coupe, 1988 Ferrari Testarossa (2 of them), 1930 Rolls-Royce 20/25hp Sedan de Ville, 1972 Ferrari 365 GTC/4 Coupe, 1966 Ferrari 330 GTC Berlinetta, 1963 Rolls-Royce Phantom V Limousine (once owned by the Duke of Kent), 1965 Ferrari 330 GT 2+2 Coupe (at a time in the possession of John Lennon), 1969 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Limousine, and 1992 Rolls-Royce Phantom VI Landaulet.

All the cars will be up for grabs during the Bonhams' Paris sale of Motor Cars at the Grand Palais on February 5. This time, no official reason behind the billionaire's decision to sell the cars was provided by any of his spokespeople. We, on the other hand, can think of at least one: in all, the cars might fetch $1.74 million (EUR1,281,000)...