Here's a two-minute, utterly fascinating video clip from the newly released documentary The Queen of Versailles. To recap, the film made its debut at Sundance this year and chronicles the ultimately ill-fated quest of billionaire timeshare titan David Siegel and his wife, Jackie, to design and build the largest house in America. Once intended to be their dream home, the 90,000-square-foot palace, inspired by the architecture at Versailles, was stalled when the recession hit and the place now sits unfinished while the Siegels await a buyer.
Originally listed for $100M finished and $75M as-is, the property was recently PriceChopped to $90M/$65M. "If we don't sell it we're going to live there," said a somewhat delusional "Queen" Jackie yesterday morning on The Today Show—because, let's face it, it's way more likely that the American Versailles ends up hitting the auction block. In fact, the Siegels have since sued director Lauren Greenfield and the filmmakers and have asked that they change the ending so it's not the "riches to rags" story it is but rather a more optimistic one. “Versailles does not face foreclosure because it was refinanced, and construction is starting again,” David wrote in a letter to Greenfield's attorney.
Anyway, Greenfield filmed the Siegels over a four-year period that began before the crash, a happy time when Jackie seemed excited, if not giddy, about her forthcoming megamansion. Watch as she tours the under-construction space and describes some of the home's features:
· All The Queen of Versailles coverage [Curbed National]
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