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Beautiful buildings are a feast for the eyes. Whether shopping malls or office buildings, mosques or cathedrals, sports stadiums or hotels, the biggest, most impressive buildings in the world are meant to impress. But some of these magnificent structures cost a good amount of money.
In 2022, Decorative Ceiling Tiles compiled an exhaustive list of the most expensive buildings of all-time. Here’s a look at the top 10, with building costs adjusted for inflation as of 2025. Global inflation rates of 6.66% for 2023 and 5.76% for 2024 were used, based on data from Statista.
The Great Mosque of Mecca
Location: Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Year built: 2020
Original cost: $100 billion
Cost in 2025 dollars: $129.95 billion
The price tag on the Great Mosque of Mecca is admittedly a bit deceiving. Although the building is certainly massive and extravagant, the oldest parts of the mosque have been around since the 16th century, according to Britannica. The massive cost includes continual and ongoing renovations and upgrades.
Abraj Al Bait
Location: Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Year built: 2012
Original cost: $15 billion
Cost in 2025 dollars: $22 billion
Perhaps fittingly, the second-most expensive building in the world stands close to the most expensive, the Great Mosque. The Abraj Al Bait is an expansive complex of skyscrapers offering everything from a five-star hotel and high-end retail shops to heliports, a 10,000-person prayer area and the world’s largest clock.
Marina Bay Sands
Location: Singapore
Year built: 2010
Original cost: $5.7 billion
Cost in 2025 dollars: $8.79 billion
The Marina Bay Sands complex was absolutely transformative to the skyline of ever-growing Singapore and its three towers now stand as a monument to that country’s emergence as a world-class destination. The five-star hotel and casino resort’s rooftop infinity pool offers one of the best views of the world, perched above Marina Bay and overlooking downtown Singapore.
Resorts World Sentosa
Location: Singapore
Year built: 2010
Original cost: $4.93 billion
Cost in 2025 dollars: $7.60 billion
Built at approximately the same time as the Marina Bay Sands but about 8 kilometers away, Resorts World Sentosa is one of the most prominent features of tiny Sentosa island, long a getaway for tourists and locals alike. The integrated resort offers everything from high-end hotels and a marine park to spas, fine dining and Universal Studios Singapore.
SoFi Stadium
Location: Inglewood, California
Year built: 2020
Original cost: $5.5 billion
Cost in 2025 dollars: $7.14 billion
SoFi Stadium is the newest entry on the list, having been completed less than five years ago. The massive sports and entertainment complex — the largest football stadium in America — is home to both the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers. It was also immortalized in the Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert film, captured as the singer sold out the arena for six nights as part of the highest-grossing concert tour in history.
Apple Park
Location: Cupertino, California
Year built: 2017
Original cost: $5 billion
Cost in 2025 dollars: $6.86 billion
Unlike many of the other buildings on this list, Apple Park isn’t devoted to worship or entertainment. Rather, it’s simply the most recent headquarters of Apple. However, as the most valuable company in the entire world — and one sitting on a cash hoard of approximately $53 billion — a massive, high-tech building is likely what one should expect for the company’s headquarters.
The Cosmopolitan
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
Year built: 2010
Original cost: $3.9 billion
Cost in 2025 dollars: $6.01 billion
The Cosmopolitan is one of the hippest, trendiest, splashiest resorts on the entire Las Vegas Strip. While the resort originally struggled to get built, it now thrives as a luxury destination for foodies and fashionistas alike. MGM resorts bought the Cosmopolitan from Blackrock for $5.5 billion in 2022.
Wynn Palace
Location: Cotai, Macau
Year built: 2016
Original cost: $4.2 billion
Cost in 2025 dollars: $5.89 billion
Wynn Resorts is likely best known to Americans for its twin gleaming towers in Las Vegas, the original Wynn hotel and its follow-up, Encore. But the Wynn hotel-casino in Macau is actually the one that most earns the name of “palace” due to its extravagantly over-the-top, yet still classy, furnishings. In addition to its high-end decor, the integrated resort features grand architecture combined with natural design elements, such as a lake and an abundance of flowers.
One World Trade Center
Location: New York City, New York
Year built: 2012
Original cost: $3.8 billion
Cost in 2025 dollars: $5.56 billion
One World Trade Center is not just an icon of America’s resilience, it is also the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, standing a symbolic 1,776 feet high. The modern, artistic wonder has a footprint identical to the original Twin Towers in size and boasts a variety of both practical and inspiring features, all of which contributed to its hefty price tag.
Palace of the Parliament
Location: Bucharest, Romania
Year built: 1997
Original cost: $2.5 billion
Cost in 2025 dollars: $5.23 billion
While many in the Western world think of London’s riverside version when they hear the term “Parliament building,” it is Romania’s Palace of the Parliament that cracks the top-10 list of most expensive buildings. Construction on the palace began in 1984 and although it was “completed” in 1997, work on the building is still ongoing, contributing to the cost. However, it’s already the second-largest administrative building in the world, behind only the Pentagon, according to Lonely Planet.
