Don't you just love it when rich people try to be relatable to boost their popularity and end up proving just how out of touch they are? If you do, Jackie Siegel, aka the Real Queen of Versailles, doesn't – but only because it's her we're talking about.
Boarding a plane can be a memorable experience, both good and bad. If you can afford to fly only business class or, even better, private, your experiences will mostly be of the positive kind. Yes, but how does one replicate that feeling of private jet flying without having to go outside of one's house?
Jackie Siegel has the answer, and it's why she's in the news today. The former beauty girl turned entrepreneur is often in the news for the challenges she's facing in her decades-long struggle to complete Versailles, the largest single-family home in the United States.
Planning for the mega-mansion started before she and her multi-millionaire husband bought the land in 2000, and works have already cost more than $100 million. The problem is that the three-level 90,000 square-foot (8,400 square-meter) home is nowhere near completion after several delays and serious money issues.
Photo: Jackie Siegel
If only because it seems a task worthy of Sisyphus, people love to touch base with Siegel every now and then to see where progress on Versailles is at. The last time they did so, she'd posted a video to social media bragging about how she'd set up a private jet cabin inside her living room, only to be able to replicate that exquisite, ultra-pampered feeling you get when flying private.
"Have you ever had one of those days when you’re in the mood for caviar, but you feel like, ‘Oh my gosh, I should be on a private jet eating caviar, but I don’t want to leave my home?’" Like, who hasn't at least once a week?! If that's not the most relatable thing a multi-millionaire has ever asked on social media, we don't know what is.
Sarcasm aside, Siegel proceeded to show off the cabin, complete with a swiveling, adjustable chair with a comfy little pillow, aircraft-style windows, and a serving setup including chilled champagne. She was wearing flip-flops with a full-glam look, but hey, even millionaires need to kick back.
Photo: Jackie Siegel
The response to the video has been exactly as you'd imagine. The carbon footprint and the prohibitive rates of flying private aside, Siegel's video comes at a time when the ongoing financial crisis means people are struggling to put food on the table. Her little skit about munching on caviar while in the comfort of your home went down very badly, and people online wasted no effort in letting her know.
Siegel has since apologized, saying the video was only a joke she didn't think through. She doesn't have a private jet cabin inside her living room, so Candy Spelling still holds strong to the title of the most outrageous mansion designer because she put a room for gift wrapping and another room for her collection of dolls inside Candyland.
Siegel explained that the cabin had been in her home for an event, most likely a paid partnership with a local company offering private jet charters. She thought it'd be funny if she messed around a bit on social media, joking about putting a real cabin inside her home.
Photo: TikTok/TheRealQueenOfVersailles
The funniest part about this whole episode is that almost anyone who's seen the video believed she was being serious because she comes across as the kind of person that would put a private jet cabin inside her living room just to eat caviar while pretending she was flying. Versailles is a 15-room monstrosity with a 53-car garage and gilded ceilings, a full-size British pub that was flown from the UK in pieces, and something called a teenager's cave. A private jet cabin would have fit right in.
The snafu is comparable to that time when reality star (and billionaire) Kim Kardashian tried to deflect from ongoing conversations on her excessive private jet use by complaining about how expensive gas was. Or when millionaire socialite Amanda Caroline Cronin complained about the rising living costs by lamenting her fate for having to fly premium economy to an event instead of the usual business class.
We all know that the rich travel by private jet, drive exclusive automobiles, shower in diamonds, and eat off silver platters, and to a certain extent, we've grown accustomed to the idea that inequality exists. More than rubbing it in by humble-bragging or even outright bragging, it's this attempt at relatability that offends.
Not that we're in any position to teach the rich on social media anything, but sometimes, not trying to appear relatable is a much smarter course of action. It would be less fun for us watching at home, but wiser.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
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