"The Queen of Versailles," a recent documentary by filmmaker Lauren Greenfield, follows the story of mega-billionaires Jackie and David Siegel, owners of the what was set to be the largest single-family home in the United States. Loosely modeled on the floor plan of a certain famous French royal palace, the house was designed with 30 bathrooms and 10 kitchens, sprawling across 90,000 square feet of mansion.
But what begins as an awkward celebration of the exorbitant wealth of the 1% soon turns into a saga that would make any representative from the 99% smirk with satisfaction. Cue the financial crisis and the Siegels' American dream becomes a regular riches to rags tale as David's booming time-share business collapses along with the real-estate bubble. Soon after, the family can no longer afford their enormous compound and are forced to reevaluate their delusions of grandeur.
The film chronicles the following two years as Jackie and David struggle through their downfall with equal part denial and self-deprecating humor. Watch an uncomfortable deleted scene from the documentary in the video above and a trailer for "The Queen of Versailles" below. Let us know what you think of the plight of the uber-wealthy in the comments section.
"The Queen of Versailles" is available today on DVD and Blu-ray.
Scroll through the slideshow below to check out more must-see documentaries that recently screened at DOC NYC.
