Inside Queen of Versailles' $100M mansion as Jackie Siegel reveals most expensive part of house and

Publish date: 2024-04-26

JACKIE Siegel, otherwise known as the "Queen of Versailles", has finally revealed when she will be moving into her infamous $100 million mega-mansion almost 20 years after the build first began.

The 56-year-old and her timeshare mogul husband, David Siegel, 87, began constructing their sprawling 90,000-square-foot home on the shore of Lake Butler, Florida, in 2004 with the aim of one day living in the largest house in America.

However, their dream has been repeatedly delayed by a series of setbacks and personal heartbreak, including the economic crash of 2008 and the tragic overdose death of their 18-year-old daughter Victoria in 2015.

But finally, Jackie told The US Sun her "super Walmart"-sized home is now edging ever-closer to completion - and she's even earmarked a date for when she will be moving in with her family at long last.

"My goal is to move in on May 3, 2023, for my husband's 88th birthday and live there as a family," she said.

"It feels great to be close but it's a heck of a lot of work that I wasn't anticipating."

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Jackie and David will be moving into the home with their seven children, along with a number of staff members - including a butler and security - and their various pets, which include dogs, toucans, and a number of other animals.

The gigantic property is set to feature nine kitchens, 30 bathrooms, 14 bedrooms, a nightclub, a 150-person dining room, and an authentic British pub with a vintage bar and London phone box imported from the UK.

Jackie also hoped to install a Benihana-style restaurant and kitchen inside the home, though those plans have been placed on the back-burner for the time being due to planning complications.

While declining to share its price tag, Jackie said the home's most expensive item can be found in the family's grand ballroom: a dancefloor floor made out of semi-precious stones sourced from 22 different countries and dry set in Indonesia.

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Calling the flooring a necessary purchase, Jackie explained that the ballroom will be used to host charity events and fundraisers for their foundation, Victoria's Voice, which they set up in their late daughter's name to help combat teen overdose deaths.

The design of the floor also pays homage to Victoria with an amethyst butterfly at its center. The feature is a reference to the butterfly that landed on Victoria's coffin during her funeral seven years ago.

MAKE IT REIGN

Elsewhere throughout the home, a collection of exotic birds - to which Jackie hopes to one day add Flamingoes - will be scattered, as will an assembly of old-world antiques, which she and David have spent between $20m-$30m acquiring.

Other pricey objects include a $184,000 chandelier, a $30,000 dollar sculpture of a trio of goddesses, and a $100,000 stained glass window.

But despite the array of lavish items and furniture on display, it's her secret wardrobe that brings Jackie the most joy.

"My favorite room will probably be my secret closet because when I need some alone time I know I can hide and escape from my crazy busy life there," she said.

Despite the tireless two decades of work that have gone into bringing Jackie's vision to life (not the mention the home's annual $65,000 tax bill), she said every drop of blood, sweat, and tears will feel worth it in the end.

She also believes that the project has helped bring her family closer together.

She explained: "The home has already brought us more together because the children are involved now and it's a project that’s bringing us all together.

"The kids are excited about it and my husband is excited about it and I really think it’s going to keep them close to us."

FIT FOR A QUEEN

As the years have passed with her children growing older, Jackie said her original plans for the home back in 2004 have changed quite considerably from the property she has now.

Where she once had drawn up plans to have a nanny's room and an ice skating rink, instead they now have larger closets and a workout room.

Speaking about the scale of the entire property, Jackie said: "It feels like the same size of a super Walmart to me.

"I mean we can all get lost in the house and in order to find someone, sometimes we have to call each other [on the phone]."

To walk through the entire home room-by-room will take visitors a couple of hours, Jackie insists.

But despite Versaille being crowned the biggest home in America, Jackie said she wishes it was even bigger and pledged to continue building on the property even after she's moved in.

"In terms of my house, I actually wish it were a little bigger because I have a lot more friends now and they are all wanting to come stay at Versailles, so I’m having to add [to it].

"Also because now we have a live-in security guard house and I also need more guest suites and guest houses ... I’m actually going to add on to Versailles."

RETURN TO POWER

Jackie has been documenting the latest in the building of her over-the-top mansion on a new Discovery+ Show, Queen of Versailles Reigns Again.

The six-episode series marked her return to the small screen for the first time in 10 years.

Jackie and her family were propelled to fame in 2012 after appearing in the documentary Queen of Versailles, which followed the family's trials and tribulations as David's timeshare business was badly hit by the 2008 recession.

Construction was halted for a number of years amid their financial woes, and Jackie and David were even at one point forced to put the property up for sale but they failed to find a buyer willing to meet their $60 million price tag.

The project was also delayed after Victoria's tragic death and again for a time in 2019 when a fire broke out on the property.

But Jackie said it "feels good" to be back on screen "because I’m able to answer a lot of questions about Versailles and what happened with it.

"And it has given me the opportunity to speak about the drug epidemic and hopefully reach out and save a lot of lives," she added.

While Versailles may be moving closer to completion, Jackie said she doesn't expect to suddenly find herself with more free time on her hands once it's finished.

"I don’t think I’ll ever see a day of free time," she said. "Getting the house done is the first step and next I’m ... going around the country for Victoria's voice speaking at schools.

"Plus my work on the house is creating more work for me and the running of the house is a job in itself.

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"I had to hire a manager/butler and will probably have a staff of about 30 people.

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"And with all the events I’ll be hosting it’s going to be a lot of behind-the-scenes managing of staff making sure everything runs smoothly."

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