I Hope Siegel Doesn't Sue Me

The February 6th issue of Newsweek – the one with the stupid cover art of Robotron Romney and Gaseous Gingrich depicted as fearsome gladiators brandishing swords on the White House lawn instead of as the pompous, pandering politicians that they are – contains an interesting and well-written story about a 76-year-old businessman named David Siegel who epitomizes the greed and obtuseness of the Romney Set (although Siegel supports Nauseating Newt).

Writer Rebecca Dana paints a portrait of an extremely rich and truly unlikable old man who bemoans the demonization of the 1 percent while personifying its excess, arrogance and insensitivity.

Jacqueline Siegel

Referring to a popular, unflattering documentary entitled “Queen of Versailles” that tells the story of his effort to build a garish 90,000-square-foot home near Orlando, he told Newsweek, “They made it look like my company is in ruins, that I live in a pigsty, that my wife is a gold-digging blonde bimbo, that she’s overendowed, that she’s a shopaholic. Some of that might be true, but it’s not the way they presented it. She is a shopaholic, but what woman isn’t?”

Um, how about women who aren’t married to sexist billionaires?

The article reveals that he thinks of himself as a “political kingmaker” who was “personally responsible for getting George W. Bush elected president.” If you ask me, that alone is reason enough to dislike the dude with a passion.

He also whined, “They said we have 15 servants, when we never had more than four or five nannies for eight children.”

David Siegel

Don’t these guys have advisors? Can’t they pay public relations experts to teach ‘em how to bite their tongues instead of uttering offensive or insensitive remarks that just reinforce their reputation as boorish *ssh*l*s with too much money and not enough class?

The ballroom of the Siegel home

Get this: Newsweek reports that the Siegel house, which is unfinished, is modeled after France’s Palace of Versailles and boasts 23 bathrooms, 13 bedrooms, a 20-car garage, 11 kitchens, a two-story wine cellar, three swimming pools and two tennis courts. The Wall Street Journal adds that it includes “a boat house, formal gardens, a baseball field, two tennis courts and a rock grotto with a waterfall, a fitness center, a two-lane bowling alley, a roller rink, a video arcade and a theater.” It’s on the market for $75 million.

Gee, I’m just a little short.

Of course Siegel’s suing – America is, after all, the Land of the Litigious – and hopes to snag at least $75,000 from the filmmakers and the Sundance Institute (the movie won the best documentary direction award at this year’s Sundance Festival) for disseminating promotional materials stating that his gigantic real estate/time share company, Westgate Resorts, had “collapsed” a few years ago when in fact, he claims, business is just fine.

Speaking of lawsuits, the Orlando Sentinel reported back in 2007 that a federal jury ordered Siegel to pay $5.4 million to a female ex-employee who sued him for sexual harassment and battery three years earlier. That's a lot of cash.

The same newspaper reported last November that he’s trimmed the size of Westgate’s workforce from 12,000 employees to 5,500. That’s a lot of layoffs.

I just wrote about how there are thousands of human beings in this land of plenty who have nothing, who sleep in alcoves and bus stops and depend on the kindness of strangers in order to eat. So I’m finding it particularly disgusting right now that crass billionaires like David Siegel flaunt their fortunes and expect the rest of us to give a sh*t about anything they say or think.

I’m not opposed to people amassing wealth and achieving success. That’s what capitalism is all about, right? What irks me is how many of them prove to be real dicks.

I can’t wait to see “Queen of Versailles.”

Fixer upper for sale

Artist rendering of home at top courtesy Associated Press. Jacqueline Siegel photo courtesy Chris Detrick/The Salt Lake Tribune. Ballroom photo courtesy Robert Paisola.

Sources: Newsweek, Orlando Sentinel, Wall Street Journal.