As a matter of fact, it could be just two SL55s, and he just could be buying them. Like bought one, drove it for 6 months, then traded it in to the dealership for another one, asking to hold the first one for six months for him, then trade in the second one, buy the first one back and so on, so he could keep the older model
Just a thought...

when your that rich u dont really care

whats a parking ticket or a fine? or switching your car out every 6 months

Hollywood celebs get more attention than he did. It's just a sign of a huge ego.

How to tell when you are really and truly wealthy: You lease an identical new SL55 AMG every six months to avoid purchasing license plates.

Driving without a plate is not unusual in LA. Every time I drive through Glendale, I see dozens of cars with no plates.

If I could get a way with driving without a license plate, I would so do it. No red light camera or speed camera tickets.

If your car was stolen, you might think otherwise. Professional thieves, of course, remove both the plates and the VIN-IDs, but many casual thiefs (and teenagers) just take a joy ride and leave the car somewhere.

Very clever man. As far as his reasons, it was probably a bit of paranoia brought on when he was in his twenties. He was possibly concerned about his own safety and privacy and that of his family as well as the secrecy of meetings he had on behalf of Apple. In his mind, he may have thought that some people tracking the whereabouts of his specific Mercedes might have been able to better eavesdrop or glean new info on whatever Apple was designing/acquiring/partnering with/generally interested in. Hypothetically that would be bad for business.

Realistically, he wasn't as recognizable or even as pursued as, say, Brad Pitt. It doesn't matter. He was dogged about things he wanted to do and at this point in time he had a lot of money to accomplish whatever he wanted to, even if it meant being a part of the most monetarily wasteful car leasing arrangement just to avoid having a license plate.

It reminds me of those turtleneck sweaters he always wore. He had a whole closet full of 100 copies when he first got them custom made by a Japanese designer. He'd pull out another brand new one once he'd worn out the one he'd been wearing for a while. Stanley Kubrick reportedly did something similar: his closets were full of dozens of the same size, cut and color shirts, pants, jackets and even sneakers. Like Jobs' turtlenecks and SL55 AMG's, he kept pretty much the same style outfits for several years at a time.

Disposability has a new meaning when you're at that level. Or perhaps it's the monetary power to be able to buy a ludicrous number of the same things to future-proof yourself for the inevitable time you can't buy them any longer.

I realize it's only a census of one, but the casual thieves (and yes, they were teenagers) who stole my car immediately replaced the plates with (likely also stolen) temporary plates. I'd be extremely surprised if most thieves didn't do the same. It's a process that literally takes seconds and makes them far less likely to be caught....why wouldn't they?

Dang, you got me there. I considered the possibility of the car getting stolen. Of course if I were Steve Jobs, I'd just buy another.

Unfortunately I don't have that kind of money...

if my cars ever get stolen, i surely don't ever want to see them again

What's funny is he would be identified quicker cause he had no plate!!!!!