India Plans World's Tallest Residential Tower

India is emerging as a global economic power, with a rising middle and wealthy class with money to burn, which is good news for Lodha Developers, a Mumbai company about to break ground on the world's tallest residential tower -- and, no doubt, one of the city's priciest real estate offerings.

With 117 stories, the 1,450-foot World One Tower will dwarf the Empire State Building and the Willis Tower in Chicago (née the Sears tower) in the overall skyscraper stakes, and easily rise higher than the Q1 Tower in Australia's Gold Coast City, the current reigning world champion of residential structures.

Of course, the nearly 300 apartments in the $450-million World One Tower won't come cheap. Residences will start at around $1.5 million and top out between $10 and $12 million, according to the developer. That may be chump change by New York City luxury real estate standards, but it definitely ranks high in India's big cities, where property prices have nearly doubled over the past year, Indian Realty News says.

Still, who might be in the market for such high living?