The 14 most expensive skyscrapers built in the last 20 years
In 2006, Indian business magnate Mukesh D. Ambani built the 27-floor Antilia skyscraper, which serves as his private residence.
At $1 billion, Antilia is the world's most expensive residential property behind Buckingham Palace. It's also designed to survive a magnitude 8 earthquake.
Source: Business Insider
Located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom Centre cost approximately $1 billion to build. Construction of the 990-foot skyscraper wrapped up in 2002.
The second floor features a shopping mall, bank, and mosque, designated only for women. Designed by Minnesota-based firm Ellerbe Necket, the Kingdom Centre also includes a hotel, offices, apartments, and a 184-foot skybridge.
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai cost approximately $1.5 billion to build. Construction lasted from 2004 to 2009.
Source: Arabian Business
Including the antennae, the tower stands 2,717 feet tall, making it the tallest building in the world. Inside, there are residential apartments, eight hotels, shops, restaurants, and offices. Here's the view from the observation deck (also the world's tallest):
The Seat of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt, Germany cost $1.25 billion to construct in 2013.
Source: EU Business
The twin skyscraper houses the headquarters of the ECB, the central bank for the euro.
The tallest building in the UK, it features residences, a hotel, restaurants, offices, a business school, shops, a clinic, and an observatory.
Source: The-Shard.com
Stretching 101 stories, the aptly named Taipei 101 was built in 2004. It hovers over Taiwan and cost $1.8 billion.
Source: Business Insider
The skyscraper's ground floor features a giant sphere painted gold. The other levels contain offices, shops, and a restaurant.
Built in 2007, the $2.05 billion Palazzo Casino is on the Las Vegas Strip.
Source: The Las Vegas Review Journal
Italian Renaissance architecture influenced the hotel and casino's design.
Constructed in Dubai in 2012, the $2.17 billion Princess Tower houses shops and 763 luxury condos.
Source: World Atlas
The view from the higher floors is stunning.
The Venetian is a luxury hotel, mall, and casino in Macau. Built in 2005, the 738-foot resort cost $2.4 billion.
Source: The New York Times
In the center of the mall, there's a manmade "river" (modeled after the famous one in Venice), where shoppers can take gondola rides.
With a price tag of $3.8 billion, One World Trade Center opened in 2012. Located in New York City, it's next to the site of the original WTC, which is now a memorial for the victims of the September 11 attacks.
Source: New York magazine
In the elevator going up to the observation deck, there's a timelapse projection that shows what Manhattan has looked like every year since 1500.
In 2010, a set of Las Vegas high-rises called the Cosmopolitan was built for $3.9 billion.
Source: Arquitectonica
One of the Cosmopolitan's main attractions is its giant glowing chandelier. There's also a casino, shops, restaurants, a theater, a gym and spa, and a convention space.
With a price tag of $4.1 billion to construct in 2005, the 614-foot-tall Wynn resort and casino sits on the Las Vegas Strip.
Source: Bloomberg
Here's what it looks like inside. In 2016, it started a $1.6 billion expansion, set to be finished in 2020.
Source: Bloomberg
Three towers make up the Marina Bay Sands Resort, which opened in 2010 in Singapore.
With a cost of $5.7 billion, it's billed as one of the world's most expensive casino properties, though it also includes a hotel, a convention center, a mall, a museum, two theaters, seven restaurants, and a skating rink.
Source: Fast Company
At a whopping $15 billion, the Abraj Al Bait features seven towers completed from 2007 to 2012. Located in Mecca, the Saudi Arabian government owns the complex.
Source: The Guardian
At the peak, there's a massive gold-painted crescent, which appears in white on Mecca's flag.
Inside, there are restaurants, a five-story shopping mall, luxury hotels and condos, and a parking garage.
The towers can be seen from inside the holy mosque of Mecca, where crowds flock to pray.
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