informational 5 min read
Empire State Building Facts & What It Looks Like Today
Updated September 12, 2026
Short answer: the Empire State Building is owned today by Empire State Realty Trust, a publicly traded company; Donald Trump never owned it outright, despite a well-known 1990s legal fight over its lease; and it remains a working office building with an observatory, not a residence.
Height and records
The building stands 1,454 feet (443.2 m) tall including its antenna, with a roof height of 1,250 feet (380 m). It was the world’s tallest building from 1931 until 1970, and New York City’s tallest again after the September 11 attacks until One World Trade Center surpassed it in 2012. As of 2025, it ranks as the eighth-tallest building in New York City, the tenth-tallest completed skyscraper in the United States, and the 59th-tallest completed skyscraper in the world.
Who owns it today
Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: ESRT), a New York City-focused real estate investment trust led by Chairman, CEO and President Anthony E. Malkin, owns and manages the building.
The Trump ownership question
This comes up often enough to need a straight answer: Donald Trump never owned the Empire State Building outright. In 1991, Japanese investor Hideki Yokoi bought the building; his daughter and her husband later brought Trump in, handing him a 50% stake in the partnership holding the building’s lease in exchange for pursuing an eviction lawsuit against the building’s operators, Malkin and the Helmsley family. Trump sued in 1995, arguing the leaseholders had let the building decline — and lost. Malkin’s side then bought the building outright for about $57 million, and Trump walked away with roughly half of the profit from that sale, about $8 million. He was a lease-side partner for a few years, never an owner.
Does anyone live there?
No. The Empire State Building is a commercial office and retail tower with an observatory on the 86th and 102nd floors — there are no residential units.
Is it open today, and what does it look like now?
The building is open on its usual schedule year-round except in rare cases announced on the official site; check current hours before a visit. Its exterior appearance hasn’t changed meaningfully since a 1960s-era antenna update — it’s still the same Art Deco limestone-and-granite tower photographed since 1931.
For booking a visit, see the full comparison of ticket and tour options.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns the Empire State Building today?
Empire State Realty Trust (NYSE: ESRT), a publicly traded real estate investment trust led by Anthony E. Malkin, owns and manages the building.
Did Donald Trump ever own the Empire State Building?
No, not outright. In the 1990s Trump held a 50% stake in the partnership that leased the building, received in exchange for pursuing an eviction lawsuit against the Malkin/Helmsley leaseholders on behalf of the building's then-owner. He lost that suit; the leaseholders bought the building outright in the deal that followed, and Trump walked away with roughly half of the profit from the eventual sale, about $8 million, without ever owning the building itself.
Does anyone live in the Empire State Building?
No — it's a commercial office and retail building with an observatory, not a residential building.
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