Behold the proposed new Kingdom Tower for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia — at one full kilometer in height, about twice the size of New York’s new Freedom Tower. The  Kingdom Tower comprises 252 floors of mixed market apartments, hotel rooms, and offices. It has been common throughout history that imperial societies build their greatest monuments just before they collapse, so we may consider this a portent for the oil empire of Saudi Arabia. In order to have terms of reference, the next picture compares the highest man-made buildings on the planet.

A Skyscraping Boom

We are clearly in the middle of a building frenzy. Historically, the construction of  “highest in the world” iconic towers has been associated with the bursting of economic and finacial bubbles and the onset of deep recessions or depressions. In the next picture, you can appreciate the link between these two phenomena since 1885.

And, in the following video, you can see experience the thrill of climbing the Burj Khalifa tower in the U.A.E., the highest building on planet Earth.