Ranking · Vanity Ratio
Buildings ranked by Vanity Ratio - the gap between architectural top and where the elevator actually stops.
What this list is
The Fake Tall Kings list ranks buildings by Vanity Ratio in descending order - worst offenders first. Vanity Ratio measures the gap between the architectural top (the number used in official rankings) and the highest occupied floor (the floor where the elevator stops). A building with a 36% Vanity Ratio is marketed at a height that is 36% taller than its highest usable floor. The list targets the metric. The editorial analysis is about how buildings are measured and ranked, not about the people who built them.
The Wall of Shame, drawn to scale - worst Vanity Ratio left to most honest right
Each silhouette drawn to scale. Silver = the height humans actually reach. Amber = the decorative steel above it.
234m
honest
366m
“official”
+132m vanity
36.0% ratio
Bank of America Tower
New York City
240m
honest
355m
“official”
+115m vanity
32.3% ratio
Emirates Office Tower
Dubai
317m
honest
450m
“official”
+134m vanity
29.7% ratio
Zifeng Tower
Nanjing
585m
honest
828m
“official”
+243m vanity
29.3% ratio
Burj Khalifa
Dubai
387m
honest
541m
“official”
+155m vanity
28.6% ratio
One World Trade Center
New York City
311m
honest
427m
“official”
+116m vanity
27.2% ratio
One Vanderbilt
New York City
503m
honest
679m
“official”
+176m vanity
25.9% ratio
Merdeka 118
Kuala Lumpur
297m
honest
390m
“official”
+93m vanity
23.9% ratio
CITIC Plaza
Guangzhou
357m
honest
462m
“official”
+105m vanity
22.8% ratio
Lakhta Center
Saint Petersburg
279m
honest
360m
“official”
+81m vanity
22.4% ratio
Almas Tower
Dubai
276m
honest
356m
“official”
+80m vanity
22.4% ratio
Gevora Hotel
Dubai
298m
honest
384m
“official”
+86m vanity
22.4% ratio
Shun Hing Square
Shenzhen
288m
honest
367m
“official”
+79m vanity
21.5% ratio
Bank of China Tower
Hong Kong
346m
honest
435m
“official”
+89m vanity
20.5% ratio
111 West 57th Street
New York City
314m
honest
393m
“official”
+79m vanity
20.2% ratio
23 Marina
Dubai
299m
honest
374m
“official”
+75m vanity
20.0% ratio
Central Plaza
Hong Kong
494m
honest
607m
“official”
+113m vanity
18.6% ratio
Abraj Al-Bait
Mecca
439m
honest
530m
“official”
+91m vanity
17.1% ratio
Tianjin CTF Finance Centre
Tianjin
383m
honest
461m
“official”
+79m vanity
17.1% ratio
Landmark 81
Ho Chi Minh City
375m
honest
452m
“official”
+77m vanity
17.0% ratio
Petronas Tower 1
Kuala Lumpur
375m
honest
452m
“official”
+77m vanity
17.0% ratio
Petronas Tower 2
Kuala Lumpur
320m
honest
383m
“official”
+63m vanity
16.5% ratio
Autograph Tower
Jakarta
298m
honest
355m
“official”
+57m vanity
16.1% ratio
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai T1
Dubai
298m
honest
355m
“official”
+57m vanity
16.1% ratio
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai T2
Dubai
300m
honest
352m
“official”
+52m vanity
14.7% ratio
Marina Torch
Dubai
438m
honest
508m
“official”
+70m vanity
13.8% ratio
Taipei 101
Taipei
357m
honest
413m
“official”
+57m vanity
13.6% ratio
Princess Tower
Dubai
371m
honest
425m
“official”
+54m vanity
12.7% ratio
Marina 101
Dubai
340m
honest
387m
“official”
+47m vanity
12.2% ratio
30 Hudson Yards
New York City
399m
honest
450m
“official”
+51m vanity
11.3% ratio
Suzhou IFS
Suzhou
375m
honest
421m
“official”
+46m vanity
10.8% ratio
Jin Mao Tower
Shanghai
320m
honest
359m
“official”
+39m vanity
10.8% ratio
Hanking Center
Shenzhen
405m
honest
454m
“official”
+48m vanity
10.7% ratio
The Exchange 106
Kuala Lumpur
499m
honest
555m
“official”
+56m vanity
10.1% ratio
Lotte World Tower
Seoul
432m
honest
472m
“official”
+41m vanity
8.6% ratio
Central Park Tower
New York City
392m
honest
426m
“official”
+33m vanity
7.8% ratio
432 Park Avenue
New York City
584m
honest
632m
“official”
+49m vanity
7.7% ratio
Shanghai Tower
Shanghai
555m
honest
599m
“official”
+44m vanity
7.3% ratio
Ping An Finance Centre
Shenzhen
412m
honest
442m
“official”
+30m vanity
6.7% ratio
Willis Tower
Chicago
496m
honest
530m
“official”
+34m vanity
6.4% ratio
Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre
Guangzhou
388m
honest
412m
“official”
+24m vanity
5.9% ratio
International Finance Centre 2
Hong Kong
415m
honest
439m
“official”
+24m vanity
5.4% ratio
Guangzhou IFC
Guangzhou
431m
honest
452m
“official”
+21m vanity
4.7% ratio
Changsha IFS Tower T1
Changsha
474m
honest
492m
“official”
+18m vanity
3.7% ratio
Shanghai World Financial Center
Shanghai
427m
honest
442m
“official”
+15m vanity
3.4% ratio
KK100
Shenzhen
373m
honest
381m
“official”
+8m vanity
2.1% ratio
Empire State Building
New York City
476m
honest
484m
“official”
+8m vanity
1.7% ratio
International Commerce Centre
Hong Kong
522m
honest
528m
“official”
+6m vanity
1.1% ratio
CITIC Tower (China Zun)
Beijing
← Scroll or use page numbers →
Top 3 · Worst Vanity Ratio
1
Bank of America Tower
New York City · US
Vanity Ratio
36.0%
The incumbent Padded Pinnacle frontrunner. 131.8m of structure above the highest occupied floor - 36% of the building is decorative non-occupiable steel.
2
Emirates Office Tower
Dubai · AE
Vanity Ratio
32.3%
3
Zifeng Towerdata under review
Nanjing · CN
Vanity Ratio
29.7%
Ranks 4-48 · Confirmed occupied height
Burj Khalifa
Dubai · AE
29.3%
828m / 585.4m
One World Trade Center
New York City · US
28.6%
541.3m / 386.5m
One Vanderbilt
New York City · US
27.2%
427m / 310.9m
Merdeka 118
Kuala Lumpur · MY
25.9%
678.9m / 502.8m
CITIC Plaza
Guangzhou · CN
23.9%
390.2m / 296.9m
Lakhta Center
Saint Petersburg · RU
22.8%
462m / 357m
Almas Tower
Dubai · AE
22.4%
360m / 279.3m
Gevora Hotel
Dubai · AE
22.4%
356.3m / 276.3m
Shun Hing Square
Shenzhen · CN
22.4%
384m / 298m
Bank of China Tower
Hong Kong · HK
21.5%
367.4m / 288.3m
111 West 57th Street
New York City · US
20.5%
435m / 346m
23 Marina
Dubai · AE
20.2%
392.8m / 313.5m
Central Plaza
Hong Kong · HK
20.0%
373.9m / 299m
Abraj Al-Bait
Mecca · SA
18.6%
607m / 494m
Tianjin CTF Finance Centre
Tianjin · CN
17.1%
530m / 439.4m
Landmark 81
Ho Chi Minh City · VN
17.1%
461.3m / 382.7m
Petronas Tower 1
Kuala Lumpur · MY
17.0%
451.9m / 375m
Petronas Tower 2
Kuala Lumpur · MY
17.0%
451.9m / 375m
Autograph Tower
Jakarta · ID
16.5%
382.9m / 319.9m
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai T1
Dubai · AE
16.1%
355.4m / 298.1m
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai T2
Dubai · AE
16.1%
355.4m / 298.1m
Marina Torch
Dubai · AE
14.7%
352m / 300.1m
Taipei 101
Taipei · TW
13.8%
508.2m / 438m
Princess Tower
Dubai · AE
13.6%
413.4m / 356.9m
Marina 101
Dubai · AE
12.7%
425m / 371m
30 Hudson Yards
New York City · US
12.2%
387.1m / 340m
Suzhou IFS
Suzhou · CN
11.3%
450m / 399.1m
Jin Mao Tower
Shanghai · CN
10.8%
420.5m / 375m
Hanking Center
Shenzhen · CN
10.8%
358.9m / 320m
The Exchange 106
Kuala Lumpur · MY
10.7%
453.6m / 405.4m
Lotte World Tower
Seoul · KR
10.1%
555m / 499m
Central Park Tower
New York City · US
8.6%
472.4m / 431.9m
432 Park Avenue
New York City · US
7.8%
425.5m / 392.1m
Shanghai Tower
Shanghai · CN
7.7%
632m / 583.5m
Ping An Finance Centre
Shenzhen · CN
7.3%
599.1m / 555.1m
Willis Tower
Chicago · US
6.7%
442.1m / 412.4m
Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre
Guangzhou · CN
6.4%
530m / 496m
International Finance Centre 2
Hong Kong · HK
5.9%
412m / 387.6m
Guangzhou IFC
Guangzhou · CN
5.4%
438.6m / 415.1m
Changsha IFS Tower T1
Changsha · CN
4.7%
452m / 431m
Shanghai World Financial Center
Shanghai · CN
3.7%
492m / 474m
KK100
Shenzhen · CN
3.4%
442m / 427m
Empire State Building
New York City · US
2.1%
381m / 373.1m
International Commerce Centre
Hong Kong · HK
1.7%
484m / 476m
CITIC Tower (China Zun)
Beijing · CN
1.1%
527.7m / 522m
Methodology note
Sorted by Vanity Ratio descending. Only buildings with confirmed highest occupied floor data are included. 52 buildings in the top 100 by architectural height have unverified occupied floor data and are excluded until confirmed. See the full methodology and the Honest 100 for the companion ranking by occupied height.