[lentulusgracchus]

Including the property on which the building sits, the total cost for the Empire State Building was $40,948,900.

Keep in mind those are prewar dollars.

Allowing for 10-12% inflation in 1940-41, just before the war, and 26% single-year jump in 1946, there was about 35-40% inflation from 1936 to 1950.

Furthermore, 1950 dollars had exactly 10 times the purchasing power of 2007 dollars. And there has been some inflation since 2007, although it's hard to get a handle on. Maybe 8-10%?

So do the math based on that.

Suitable multiplier, about 15x? About $615,000,000 in today's dollars?

[SeekAndFind]

About $615,000,000 in today's dollars?

I would say that that isn't an unreasonable amount. If the Empire State Building were to be constructed from scratch today, it would easily cost over a billion dollars or more.