The edifice was first placed for sale in 1923, with du Pont offering the building for $40 million. In 1925, du Pont sold the Equitable Building for $38.5 million to the New York Empire Company, a subsidiary of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen. The next year, the Brotherhood sold the building to a syndicate composed of William Henry Vanderbilt, Harry C. Cushing III, and Leroy W. Baldwin for $40 million. By 1928, the Equitable Building was assessed at $31 million, making it the highest-valued building in New York City.