The 20-year-old playboy cousin of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has been spotted behind the wheel of a Ferrari 488 Spider reportedly worth over GBP 220,000 in Beverly Hills.
Wealthy influencer Ali Rami Makhlouf, who boasts 214,000 followers on Instagram, where he posts snaps of himself enjoying the high life, was filmed behind the wheel of the luxury vehicle by influencer Daniel Mac.
Mac, who boasts 1.3 million followers on Instagram, has achieved viral fame for approaching the owners of high-end cars and asking them “what do you do for a living?”
In the exchange between the two young men, Mac is heard popping his signature question to which Ali Makhlouf, who is the first cousin once-removed of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, replies: “You’re the guy from Instagram.”
Mac would have been left puzzled as to how the young driver, who is sat beside an attractive young woman the news site Vice describes as “closely resembl(ing) an Israeli model from Tel Aviv”, could have afforded his vehicle when he replied: “I’m doing an internship.”
However, according to news site Al Arabiya, Ali Makhlouf, despite reportedly being just 20 years old, was last year named deputy CEO of telecom company Syriatel, which is reportedly owned by his father, 52-year-old Rami Makhlouf, who is Bashar al-Assad’s maternal cousin.
The departing deputy CEO was reported to be Rami Makhlouf’s brother, Ihab Makhlouf, who was stated to have resigned from his position.
Ali Makhlouf told Mac the car he was driving, which is reportedly worth over USD 300,000 (GBP 220,511), was rented.
If his passenger’s Israeli citizenship is confirmed, he is technically violating Syrian law, which prohibits contact with citizens of the “illegal Zionist entity”.
Rami Makhlouf is considered one of the most wealthy and powerful people in Syria and part of Al-Assad’s inner circle.
He is described as a powerful government financier in US diplomatic cables leaked by Wikileaks and was implicated in the 2016 Panama Papers.
He is the subject of both European Union and US Treasury Department sanctions. However, that has apparently not stopped his younger son from living it up in California recently.
Ali Makhlouf and his brother, 23-year-old Mohammed Makhlouf, reportedly moved to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates following the outbreak of the ongoing decade-long Syrian Civil War.
Mohammed Makhlouf also flaunts his luxury lifestyle on Instagram, where he has 128,000 followers.
