World's Tallest Skyscrapers: A Brief History The Empire State Building, built in 1931, was the world's tallest skyscraper for 41 years until it was surpassed in 1972 by the World Trade Center (1,368 ft, 110 stories). Two years later, the Sears Tower in Chicago (1,450 ft, 110 stories) superseded it. And 24 years after that, in 1998, the record went to the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1,483 ft, 88 stories). Taipei 101 in Taiwan was the tallest from 2004 to 2010, topping out at 1,670 ft and 101 stories. Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was completed in January 2010 and became the world's tallest building at 2,716 feet (828 meters) and 160 stories.