Prince to Build Mile-High Skyscraper ... Somewhere

A Saudi billionaire wants to put up a mile-high skyscraper—he's just not sure where. But Prince Alwaleed bin Talal isn't about to go begging municipalities for permission. Instead, he wants the big cities of the world—New York, London, and Shanghai are among those he mentioned—to woo him instead for the record-breaking honor, reports Reuters. Talal offers no details on potential cost or time frame, but his mile-high dream would dwarf the world's current tallest skyscraper (about 2,700 feet, in Dubai; a mile is 5,280 feet).

It would be an engineering marvel—even mundane things like delivering water to the top floors would be a challenge—but Reuters quotes experts who think going a mile straight up could be done. Talal should know. His Kingdom Holding investment company is in the process of putting up the world's tallest tower in Jedda, Saudi Arabia. That will be a kilometer high, or a little more than half a mile, when it is completed in 2017, reports NBC News. (More Alwaleed bin Talal stories.)