David Siegel, the timeshare mogul behind Westgate Resorts, has died at age 89​. David earned his fortune selling timeshares, but he became famous thanks to an infamous home construction project.

In the mid-2000s, David and his wife Jackie Siegel set out to build a 90,000-square-foot palace in Florida modeled after Versailles—a mansion so massive and over-the-top it made Mar-a-Lago look like a starter home. Then came the 2008 financial crisis. The financial meltdown hit the timeshare industry perhaps worse than any other. As a result the Siegels’ dream home turned into a half-built monument to excess. Their personal and financial meltdown was captured in the 2012 documentary “The Queen of Versailles,” turning them into reluctant icons of American boom-and-bust culture.

But the story didn’t end there. Not only did the Siegels claw their way back from financial ruin—they picked up where they left off, resuming construction on the mansion and rebuilding their empire. Nearly two decades after they broke ground, Jackie is now putting the finishing touches on the house David always dreamed of.

(Photo by Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Westgate Las Vegas Resorts)

Beginnings

David Siegel was born in 1935 in Chicago. His parents were Sadelle Siegel and grocer Sid Siegel, who moved the family and the grocery business to Miami in 1945. Siegel grew up in Florida and graduated from Miami Senior High School in 1953. He went on to study marketing and management at the University of Miami, but he eventually dropped out.

He opened a TV store in Coconut Grove and sold refurbished TVs. In 1968, Siegel started selling land for a series of companies before investing in his own 1,280-acre plot. He figured out pretty fast that he could maximize the profit on by subdividing it, and the “time share king” was on his way to financial greatness. He bought an 80-acre orange grove, which brought in about $100,000 a year in orange sales alone. Then in 1980, Siegel learned about the concept of timeshares, and two years later formed his company, Westgate Resorts, and opened his first 16 units.

Over decades, Siegel grew Westgate into a sprawling empire of vacation villas and hotels – more than 13,500 rooms at two dozen resorts across the U.S., making Westgate the largest private employer in Central Florida​.

By the mid-2000s, business was booming. Siegel often rubbed shoulders with celebrities and even dabbled in beauty pageants (Jackie herself was a former Mrs. Florida). With a net worth once estimated near $1 billion, the self-made “timeshare king” set out to build a home fit for royalty: a Palace of Versailles on the shores of Lake Butler.

How They Met

Jackie Siegel was crowned Mrs. Florida, and she eventually ran the competition. One of the competitors threw a party in Orlando, and that’s where she and David met. If you’ve seen the film, you know David Siegel is a big fan of beauty queens and pageants, so it makes sense that they met through a competition.

The Biggest House in America

In 2004, construction began on the Siegels’ magnum opus – a mansion they nicknamed “Versailles,” modeled after the French palace. The plans were as over-the-top as you’d expect from a billionaire couple living the high life. They envisioned 11 kitchens, 14 bedrooms, 30 bathrooms, a 20-car (later 35-car) garage, and enough marble and gold leaf to make Louis XIV blush​. At approximately 90,000 square feet, the Florida Versailles would be the biggest single-family home in the country​. For David and Jackie, it was the ultimate symbol of their success – until the financial world came crashing down.

The Most Insane Facts About the Siegels’ Versailles Mansion:

• 90,000 square feet — making it the largest single-family home in America
• 35-car garage
• 14 bedrooms and 30 bathrooms
• 11 kitchens
• Two-lane bowling alley
• Indoor roller rink and ice skating rink
• Two-story movie theater modeled after the Paris Opera House
• 20,000-bottle wine cellar
• Fitness center with a 10,000-square-foot spa
• A “private jet room” designed to look like a luxury aircraft interior
• Three indoor pools and two outdoor pools
• British-style pub
• Ballroom that can host 150 guests
• Formal gardens, tennis courts, and a baseball diamond

Crash, Burn, and a Documentary Crown

When the 2008 financial crisis hit, it didn’t spare the Siegel kingdom. The housing market collapsed and credit dried up, hammering the timeshare business. Westgate’s revenues plummeted, forcing David to make drastic cuts.

Construction on Versailles halted abruptly​. The partially built mansion – once a source of pride – turned into a looming reminder of the crash. At one point, the unfinished 90,000-square-foot behemoth was even listed for sale at $65 million in hopes of staving off bankruptcy​.

With eight kids to care for (and a pack of pets to feed), the Siegels dramatically tightened their belts. Jackie went from planning ballroom galas to shopping at Walmart and using coupons, all while their dream house sat vacant.

Little did they know their troubles would make them pop culture icons. Filmmaker Lauren Greenfield had been documenting the Siegel lifestyle before the crash, and she kept the cameras rolling through the turmoil. The result was The Queen of Versailles (2012), a jaw-dropping documentary that captured the Siegels’ riches-to-rags saga as they tried to navigate the recession. The film showed everything from the opulent glory days to cringe-worthy scenes like Jackie asking a Hertz clerk if her rental car came with a driver.

Audiences were fascinated. The documentary won the Sundance Film Festival’s Directing Award and earned critical acclaim​, quickly becoming a touchstone for America’s era of excess gone wrong. Jackie Siegel – with her humorous quips, big heart, and bigger hair – emerged as an unlikely folk hero dubbed the “Queen of Versailles.” The Siegels’ lavish home-in-progress became a symbol of both extravagant ambition and the humbling effects of the Great Recession.

The Comeback Queen

Incredibly, the Siegels bounced back. As the economy recovered in the 2010s, Westgate Resorts found its footing again. David paid down debts, reclaimed properties, and by 2020, construction crews were once again working on Versailles. This time, Jackie took the lead. She leaned into her “Queen of Versailles” persona and became the face—and force—behind finishing the mansion. With David’s blessing, she oversaw everything from design choices to hurricane repairs (after 2022’s Hurricane Ian caused significant flooding).

The house is still not quite done, but it’s close. Jackie regularly posts updates from the site, showing off the grand staircase, sprawling ballroom, and ornate finishes. There’s now a 35-car garage, multiple pools, a British pub, a ballroom, and even a faux private jet room. It’s every bit as excessive as promised—and every inch of it earned.

Beyond the marble floors and crystal chandeliers, Jackie has also become a passionate advocate for opioid awareness. After losing her daughter Victoria to a drug overdose in 2015, she and David launched the Victoria’s Voice Foundation, pushing for addiction education and access to life-saving treatments. Jackie now hosts galas and events at the still-under-construction mansion, giving Versailles a new purpose as a platform for good.

David Siegel didn’t live to see the house fully completed—but Jackie has vowed to finish it in his honor. More than just a monument to wealth, Versailles has become a symbol of survival, second chances, and relentless ambition. It might have started as a fantasy, but two decades, one documentary, and one financial crisis later, the Siegels are proof that sometimes, the most unbelievable stories turn out to be true.