The Empire State Building has changed hands several times since its construction. After the death of John Jacob Raskob in 1950, the building was purchased in 1951 by a group of investors headed by Roger L Stevens. A few years later it fell under the ownership of a syndicate headed by Col Henry Crown. In 1961 Lawrence Wien, Harry Helmsley and the Prudential Insurance Company [L3 217 / took it over]. Thirty years later they cut a deal under which Prudential would completely control the property when the master lease expired in the year 2085.
