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.
