Veteran elevator consultant James W. Fortune says he used to hear about a supertall tower like the Burj Dubai once every five years. These days, he hears about one a month. “And one out of 10 is built,” he adds.

When Fortune started working on the vertical transportation system for the supertower in Dubai, he was president and CEO of Lerch Bates & Associates, Littleton, Colo. He subsequently retired—for two weeks—and hung out a sign in Galveston, Texas. “All I do is design elevators for mega-high-rises,” says the president of Fortune Elevator Consultants.