As financial storms battered world markets in October 2008, Dubai’s biggest property developer Nakheel was unveiling plans to build the world’s tallest skyscraper. The 1km-high Nakheel Tower, the crown jewel in a $38 billion project, was to be a reflection of the firm’s dramatic rise amid the world’s fastest-growing real estate market.
Speaking at the launch, then CEO Chris O’Donnell told media that fears the economic crisis could catch up with Dubai were overblown. “There might be a slowdown, but definitely not a crash,” he said.
Less than two months later, Dubai’s real estate bubble burst. House prices more than halved as speculators fled the market, forcing Nakheel into a painful $16 billion debt restructuring. By the time the deal closed in August 2011, the state-backed developer had written down $21 billion of assets, laid off two-thirds of its staff and accepted an $8 billion lifeline from the government to stave off a default.
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