Jackie Siegel, the self-proclaimed “Queen of Versailles,” says President Trump expressed interest in the artisans who have been working on her 90,000 square-foot mansion as he continues construction on his new ballroom.
Siegel has famously been building her Florida palace since 2004. She and her late husband, Westgate timeshare magnate David Siegel, saw their saga captured first in a 2012 documentary (The Queen of Versailles) and later in a 2022 reality show (Queen of Versailles Reigns Again), charting how construction stalled during the 2008 crash and resumed years later once their fortune recovered.
Now, Siegel says her Versailles — one of the largest single-family homes in America, based on France’s Palace of Versailles and the top floors of Las Vegas’s Paris Hotel — is nearing completion, over 20 years after ground broke on the project.
She shared an exclusive first look at the home’s opulent interior with The Independent — and with President Trump.
“I showed this to the president,” she said of the photo, which shows her main staircase leading down to the home’s living room.
“So he says, ‘I wanna come see your house,’ and maybe use some of my people for the ballroom,” she said before adding, “I’m thinking of sharing some of my artisans if he wants to use them for the ballroom.”
Siegel was referring to Trump’s latest undertaking: a demolition of the White House’s East Wing, set to be replaced with a $300 million, 90,000 square-foot event space. Trump’s decision to tear down the East Wing — which was added to the White House in 1942 and has served as office space for the first lady and her staff — has been met with widespread criticism.
Siegel is more optimistic about the renovation.
“Well, you know, the thing is he really wants to — the White House is the People's House,” she said.
“He really wants to be able to do more events there and bring more people in — and he’s paying for everything.
“In actuality, it’s going to take several years. So he’s not even gonna be able to enjoy the benefit of the ballroom at the White House. He's doing it for the future generations and the next president.
“He’s doing it out of the goodness of his heart.”
The Independent has approached the White House for comment.
Siegel is a “long-time friend of mine,” Trump said while introducing her at the White House in July. She was there, along with dozens of others, for the Halt Fentanyl Act bill signing.
Her life has been deeply affected by the drug epidemic; she lost her daughter, Victoria, to an overdose in 2015 at just 18 years old, and her sister, Jessica Mallery, to fentanyl-laced cocaine earlier this year.
Still, Siegel maintains that she’s happy to work with “whoever the American people elect” to combat the drug epidemic.
“I wanna consider myself like Switzerland, and save lives and just spread love,” she said.
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