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.
36.0%
vanity ratio · +132m
234m
honest
366m
“official”
Bank of America Tower
New York City
32.3%
vanity ratio · +115m
240m
honest
355m
“official”
Emirates Office Tower
Dubai
29.7%
vanity ratio · +134m
317m
honest
450m
“official”
Zifeng Tower
Nanjing
29.3%
vanity ratio · +243m
585m
honest
828m
“official”
Burj Khalifa
Dubai
28.6%
vanity ratio · +155m
387m
honest
541m
“official”
One World Trade Center
New York City
27.2%
vanity ratio · +116m
311m
honest
427m
“official”
One Vanderbilt
New York City
25.9%
vanity ratio · +176m
503m
honest
679m
“official”
Merdeka 118
Kuala Lumpur
23.9%
vanity ratio · +93m
297m
honest
390m
“official”
CITIC Plaza
Guangzhou
22.8%
vanity ratio · +105m
357m
honest
462m
“official”
Lakhta Center
Saint Petersburg
22.4%
vanity ratio · +81m
279m
honest
360m
“official”
Almas Tower
Dubai
22.4%
vanity ratio · +80m
276m
honest
356m
“official”
Gevora Hotel
Dubai
22.4%
vanity ratio · +86m
298m
honest
384m
“official”
Shun Hing Square
Shenzhen
21.5%
vanity ratio · +79m
288m
honest
367m
“official”
Bank of China Tower
Hong Kong
20.5%
vanity ratio · +89m
346m
honest
435m
“official”
111 West 57th Street
New York City
20.2%
vanity ratio · +79m
314m
honest
393m
“official”
23 Marina
Dubai
20.0%
vanity ratio · +75m
299m
honest
374m
“official”
Central Plaza
Hong Kong
18.6%
vanity ratio · +113m
494m
honest
607m
“official”
Abraj Al-Bait
Mecca
17.1%
vanity ratio · +91m
439m
honest
530m
“official”
Tianjin CTF Finance Centre
Tianjin
17.1%
vanity ratio · +79m
383m
honest
461m
“official”
Landmark 81
Ho Chi Minh City
17.0%
vanity ratio · +77m
375m
honest
452m
“official”
Petronas Tower 1
Kuala Lumpur
17.0%
vanity ratio · +77m
375m
honest
452m
“official”
Petronas Tower 2
Kuala Lumpur
16.5%
vanity ratio · +63m
320m
honest
383m
“official”
Autograph Tower
Jakarta
16.1%
vanity ratio · +57m
298m
honest
355m
“official”
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai T1
Dubai
16.1%
vanity ratio · +57m
298m
honest
355m
“official”
JW Marriott Marquis Dubai T2
Dubai
14.7%
vanity ratio · +52m
300m
honest
352m
“official”
Marina Torch
Dubai
13.8%
vanity ratio · +70m
438m
honest
508m
“official”
Taipei 101
Taipei
13.6%
vanity ratio · +57m
357m
honest
413m
“official”
Princess Tower
Dubai
12.7%
vanity ratio · +54m
371m
honest
425m
“official”
Marina 101
Dubai
12.2%
vanity ratio · +47m
340m
honest
387m
“official”
30 Hudson Yards
New York City
11.3%
vanity ratio · +51m
399m
honest
450m
“official”
Suzhou IFS
Suzhou
10.8%
vanity ratio · +46m
375m
honest
421m
“official”
Jin Mao Tower
Shanghai
10.8%
vanity ratio · +39m
320m
honest
359m
“official”
Hanking Center
Shenzhen
10.7%
vanity ratio · +48m
405m
honest
454m
“official”
The Exchange 106
Kuala Lumpur
10.1%
vanity ratio · +56m
499m
honest
555m
“official”
Lotte World Tower
Seoul
8.6%
vanity ratio · +41m
432m
honest
472m
“official”
Central Park Tower
New York City
7.8%
vanity ratio · +33m
392m
honest
426m
“official”
432 Park Avenue
New York City
7.7%
vanity ratio · +49m
584m
honest
632m
“official”
Shanghai Tower
Shanghai
7.3%
vanity ratio · +44m
555m
honest
599m
“official”
Ping An Finance Centre
Shenzhen
6.7%
vanity ratio · +30m
412m
honest
442m
“official”
Willis Tower
Chicago
6.4%
vanity ratio · +34m
496m
honest
530m
“official”
Guangzhou CTF Finance Centre
Guangzhou
5.9%
vanity ratio · +24m
388m
honest
412m
“official”
International Finance Centre 2
Hong Kong
5.4%
vanity ratio · +24m
415m
honest
439m
“official”
Guangzhou IFC
Guangzhou
4.7%
vanity ratio · +21m
431m
honest
452m
“official”
Changsha IFS Tower T1
Changsha
3.7%
vanity ratio · +18m
474m
honest
492m
“official”
Shanghai World Financial Center
Shanghai
3.4%
vanity ratio · +15m
427m
honest
442m
“official”
KK100
Shenzhen
2.1%
vanity ratio · +8m
373m
honest
381m
“official”
Empire State Building
New York City
1.7%
vanity ratio · +8m
476m
honest
484m
“official”
International Commerce Centre
Hong Kong
1.1%
vanity ratio · +6m
522m
honest
528m
“official”
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.