The Queen of Versailles, is a 2012 documentary, directed by Lauren Greenfield. The documentary follows the lives of David, owner of the Westgate Time Share Company, and wife Jackie Siegel for two years. This billionaire couple are living the American dream. The Siegel's are in the process of building a 90,000 square foot replica of Versailles. They soon have to face reality when economic crisis occurs. Their dreams of finishing the largest family home in America starts to diminish.
To start off, David and Jackie talk about their life in Orlando, Florida their seven children, inherited child, and past. Both David and Jackie didn't come from wealthy families. Jackie went to school to become a computer engineer, soon after she decided to move to Florida to pursue her dream as a model/beauty queen. Jackie was crowned Miss Florida in 1993. She was abused in her first marriage after the divorce she met and married David Westgate, Resorts' President, CEO, and owner. He believes he is responsible for Presidents Bush's election not stating any details as to how. Richard, David's oldest son from his first marriage, works in a high position at Westgate. These two are more business partners than anything. David isn't very family oriented he focuses more on fame and fortune which is seen throughout the documentary.
In the beginning of the documentary, Versailles is in the middle of construction. Jackie explains that their current seventeen bathroom 26,000 square foot home isn't big enough to accommodate their family. She thinks they have outgrown it and need a larger place to live. They live such an extravagant lifestyle with private jets, drivers, fancy parties, and clothes. This lifestyle soon comes to a screeching halt when economic crisis strikes, and both the U.S economy, and Westgate sub-prime mortgage collapses. Therefore, they have to dramatically change their prosperous lifestyle. For example, the Siegel family is forced to sell their private jets, put their kids in public schools, and lay off people that work in the house as well as hundreds of workers at Westgate. The children are confused as to why other people are riding on "their plane". Jackie doesn't know how to react to the fact airport cars don't have drivers, and that her children might actually have to go to college now. The building of Versailles is put at a standstill. Their current home becomes trashed and ruined because there isn't enough workers there to keep up the house. Dog poop, a dead lizard, toys, dirty dishes, and junk are scattered throughout the house. The family has a hard time leaving Versailles unfinished. Jackie continues to spend money her shopping addiction, and Botox is putting David over the edge. In the end, David explains that he will finish Versailles.
To continue, when I think documentary, I think boring, put me to sleep movies. I have never really enjoyed, or gotten into them. However, The Queen of Versailles, exceeded my expectations tremendously. It was intriguing to see how this billionaire family lived their everyday life. I feel like everything worked, and the director did an awesome job of getting into the lives of the Siegel's. The way they lived had me mind blown. I can't imagine having private jets, drivers, and be able to spend thousands of dollars on clothes without thinking twice about it. I love how there was a twist to the story, and that all of a sudden everything was taken from them. This showed me that not only did regular peoples live change during the financial collapse but, wealthy peoples did to. We all go through hard times no matter what the circumstance.
In conclusion, The Queen of Versailles, is an American documentary that shows us the lives of Jackie and David Siegel. The building of their dream home, and heartache as these dreams slip through their fingers. The family has to learn how to overcome economic crisis, and move on with their lives.
To start off, David and Jackie talk about their life in Orlando, Florida their seven children, inherited child, and past. Both David and Jackie didn't come from wealthy families. Jackie went to school to become a computer engineer, soon after she decided to move to Florida to pursue her dream as a model/beauty queen. Jackie was crowned Miss Florida in 1993. She was abused in her first marriage after the divorce she met and married David Westgate, Resorts' President, CEO, and owner. He believes he is responsible for Presidents Bush's election not stating any details as to how. Richard, David's oldest son from his first marriage, works in a high position at Westgate. These two are more business partners than anything. David isn't very family oriented he focuses more on fame and fortune which is seen throughout the documentary.
In the beginning of the documentary, Versailles is in the middle of construction. Jackie explains that their current seventeen bathroom 26,000 square foot home isn't big enough to accommodate their family. She thinks they have outgrown it and need a larger place to live. They live such an extravagant lifestyle with private jets, drivers, fancy parties, and clothes. This lifestyle soon comes to a screeching halt when economic crisis strikes, and both the U.S economy, and Westgate sub-prime mortgage collapses. Therefore, they have to dramatically change their prosperous lifestyle. For example, the Siegel family is forced to sell their private jets, put their kids in public schools, and lay off people that work in the house as well as hundreds of workers at Westgate. The children are confused as to why other people are riding on "their plane". Jackie doesn't know how to react to the fact airport cars don't have drivers, and that her children might actually have to go to college now. The building of Versailles is put at a standstill. Their current home becomes trashed and ruined because there isn't enough workers there to keep up the house. Dog poop, a dead lizard, toys, dirty dishes, and junk are scattered throughout the house. The family has a hard time leaving Versailles unfinished. Jackie continues to spend money her shopping addiction, and Botox is putting David over the edge. In the end, David explains that he will finish Versailles.
To continue, when I think documentary, I think boring, put me to sleep movies. I have never really enjoyed, or gotten into them. However, The Queen of Versailles, exceeded my expectations tremendously. It was intriguing to see how this billionaire family lived their everyday life. I feel like everything worked, and the director did an awesome job of getting into the lives of the Siegel's. The way they lived had me mind blown. I can't imagine having private jets, drivers, and be able to spend thousands of dollars on clothes without thinking twice about it. I love how there was a twist to the story, and that all of a sudden everything was taken from them. This showed me that not only did regular peoples live change during the financial collapse but, wealthy peoples did to. We all go through hard times no matter what the circumstance.
In conclusion, The Queen of Versailles, is an American documentary that shows us the lives of Jackie and David Siegel. The building of their dream home, and heartache as these dreams slip through their fingers. The family has to learn how to overcome economic crisis, and move on with their lives.