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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.
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.