the global recession. In 2012, Trump Hotels opened an office in Shanghai and in 2014 entered into a branding and management partnership with the State Grid Corporation of China, China's largest state-owned company, for a major development in Beijing. The project was abandoned a few months into Trump's 2016 presidential campaign when Chinese authorities began a corruption investigation into State Grid. Former licensees St. Regis Toronto hotel and condo tower, formerly Trump International Hotel and Tower, was renamed Adelaide Hotel Toronto in 2017 and St. Regis Toronto in 2018, and management was taken over by Marriott International. JW Marriott Panama hotel and condo tower, formerly Trump Ocean Club International Hotel and Tower, Panama. Renamed JW Marriott Panama in 2019, management taken over by Marriott International. Former properties Empire State Building: Trump acquired 50 percent ownership of the iconic skyscraper in 1994. After failed efforts to gain control of the building by evicting the master leaseholder, he and his partner sold the building in 2002. General Motors Building at Trump International Plaza: Trump partnered with Conseco to buy the 50-story Manhattan office building in 1998, and then attached his name to it. The building was sold in 2003. Grand Hyatt New York: Trump partnered with Hyatt to purchase and renovate the historic Commodore Hotel. They reopened the hotel in 1980. Trump sold his stake to Hyatt in 1996. Plaza Hotel: A historic hotel in Manhattan. Trump purchased it in 1988. He gave up half of his ownership in a 1992 bankruptcy case, and sold the rest in 1995. Hotel St. Moritz: Trump bought this Manhattan hotel in 1985 for $72 million, and then sold it in 1988 for $180 million. Maison de L'Amitie: A oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump purchased this property for $41 million at a bankruptcy auction in 2004, renovated it, and then sold it for $95 million in 2008, making it, at the time, the most expensive house ever sold in the United States. Trump Plaza: After closing in 2014, the 34-story hotel and casino building fell into disrepair and was dynamited in 2021. Scion and American Idea hotels Early in the Trump presidency, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. announced the creation of two new signature hotel brands, Scion and American Idea, as "the next generation of the company". After initially announcing as many as thirty potential deals in their pipeline, the ventures were scrapped