The most expensive building ever

The 50-storey General Motors Building in New York City was sold on Saturday for the record-setting $2.9 billion – the most ever paid for a skyscraper in the United States.

The sale of the office tower represents the loss of the crown jewel of the troubled Macklowe real estate empire, which acquired the building in 2003 for $1.4 billion.

The buyer is a group led by Mortimer B. Zuckerman, chief executive of Boston Properties, and his partners, Goldman Sachs and investment funds from Qatar and Kuwait.

The white marble G.M. Building is located on Fifth Avenue at 59th Street overlooking Central Park and is one of the famous tourist attractions in Manhattan.

The previous record deal for an American office tower was $1.4 billion set in 2006 for a 41-story building on 5th Avenue.