There was a West Berlin bunch of real estate tycoons that got wind the wall was about to fall and they went across and started buying property left, right and center. They made billions on that, effectively owning the heart of Berlin post unification.

Funny story: I once got arrested at Checkpoint Charlie :)

Here some pics from those empty skyscrapers that are completely missing all the walls and the scaffolding's been gathering rust for years. And all the court cases for the people who bought the "luxury apartments" that never realized.

I'm always surprised that the topography of terror exhibition in Berlin misses this part of the German history. Nazi's and communists are presented, but the robber barons who bought all the real estate don't get a presentation.