An Indian mechanic-turned-businessman owns 22 apartments in the popular Burj Khalifa, a media report said on Sunday. 

George V Nereaparambil says he is not stopping at 22 and will continue to buy more if he gets a “good deal”.

“If I get a good deal, I’ll buy more. I am a dreamer and I never stop dreaming,” he told Khaleej Times.

The Kerala-born is believed to be one of the largest private owners within the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest structure.

His stake in the property came about when a relative teased him about the 828-metre building.

“A relative of mine jokingly told me: See this Burj Khalifa, you cannot enter it,” he said.

After seeing an advertisement in a newspaper about an apartment for rent in the building in 2010, Nereaparambil rented the apartment the same day and started living in it from the next day.

Now, six years on with 22 of the 900 apartments at perhaps the Gulf’s poshest address under his belt, he said five are rented, and as for the rest, he’s “waiting for the right tenant”, the report quoted him as saying. More info