Hey TPR family!-
We know it has been awhile since we last posted, but we’re happy to bring more than 1 story to your attention. We’ll start with this VERY interesting documentary titled “The Queen of Versailles.”
This story takes us into the lives of Jackie and David Siegel. David Siegel owns a timeshare company called Westgate (which at the time is the largest timeshare company in the world), and our story begins with him and his family in their 26,000 sq. ft. home in Florida. As if that isn’t big enough, they soon announce their plans on building North America’s largest home in a 90,000 sq. ft. mega-plex inspired by Versailles (hence the title of the film). During the next two years, their empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis.
While watching this film you could hear moans, groans, and shouts of laughter from the audience. One of the best one-liners from Jackie (whilst talking to their 9 children) “Listen, you guys are gonna have to think about what you want to be when you grow up. The money isn’t there anymore so you all need to take a serious look into college.” That insulated from reality? Yes, yes they were. But the family slowly learns to adapt (in their own way) and the documentary sheds light on how ruthless banks and lenders were when the crisis happened. Not even the super wealthy were immune from the aggression of banks and the virus mentioned in the film most widely known as “foreclosure.”
We don’t think this will win any awards or change your life but definitely think it’s worth seeing. If not for the adventure of a rags-to-riches to rags story, then for sheer entertainment. One last quote to grease the runway for you to see this movie? Jackie (the mother) speaks on her children: “Well when I first had 2 kids I stopped because I was like wow that’s too much work. But when I found out you could have nannies I kept having kids because I could keep hiring nannies!”
Have a good day everyone! 😀
-TPR