David A. Siegel: Difference between revisions
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| residence = [[Windermere, Florida]] |
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| nationality = [[United States|American]] |
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Revision as of 21:14, 19 November 2013
David Alan Siegel | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 3, 1935 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Miami (dropped out)[1] |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Organization | Westgate Resorts Ltd |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Geraldine Florence Sanstrom (1961–1968) Bettie Irene Tucker (1970–1997) Jacqueline Elaine Mallery (2000–present)[2] |
| Children | Jackie: Jonquil (1994), Victoria (1997), David (2000), Daniel (2001), Debbie (2002), Drew (2004), Jacqueline & Jordan (2007)[3] Geri: Steven, Valerie, Richard |
| Parent(s) | Sidney and Sadelle Siegel |
| Relatives | Barry Siegel (brother) |
David A. Siegel (born May 3, 1935)[5] is an American entrepreneur and founder of Westgate Resorts Ltd, where he serves as president and chief executive officer. He also serves as the CEO of CFI Resorts Management Inc. and Central Florida Investments Inc. Siegel's businesses includes real estate, timeshares, construction, hotel and apartment management, travel services, insurance, transportation and retail.
Siegel was born in 1935 in Chicago, Illinois, to Sadelle Siegel and grocer Sid Siegel[6] who later moved the family and grocery business to Miami, Florida in 1945.[7][4] Siegel grew up in Florida where he graduated from Miami Senior High School in 1953, and later studied marketing and management at the University of Miami, before dropping out.[6]
Siegel married in March 1961 to Geraldine Florence Sanstrom.[8] The union bore three children, but ended in 1968.[6] Married again in 1970, Siegel moved from Miami to Orlando with second wife Bettie.[9]
Divorced for a second time in 1997, Siegel met his current wife Jackie in 1998.[10]
Siegel's businesses, family, and personal life were adversely affected by the 2008 financial crisis, as seen in the documentary The Queen of Versailles.[11]
Siegel campaigned for George W. Bush in 2000.[12]
In a February 2012 interview by Susan Berfield, Siegel elaborated:
"Whenever I saw a negative article about Gore, I put it in with the paychecks of my 8,000 employees. I had my managers do a survey on every employee. If they liked Bush, we made them register to vote. But not if they liked Gore. The week before [the election] we made 80,000 phone calls through my call center—they were robo-calls. On Election Day, we made sure everyone who was voting for Bush got to the polls. I didn’t know he would win by 527 votes. Afterward, we did a survey among the employees to find out who voted who wouldn’t have otherwise. One thousand of them said so."[13]
In 2008 Siegel was found liable in a sexual-harassment lawsuit brought by former Westgate employee Dawn Myers. After a trial in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the jury awarded $5.4-million but the judge reduced the award to $610,000.[14] In the trial award, Myers recovered $103,622.09 in compensatory damages and $506,847.75 in punitive damages arising from her claim of battery under state law, but her claims of sexual harassment were found to be time-barred.[15] The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissed an appeal and cross-appeal, affirming the district court's verdict.[15]
During the 2012 United States elections, Siegel caused controversy and public debate when he sent a mass email to his employees, suggesting that they vote for Republican Party candidate Mitt Romney or he might have to take drastic measures in how he operated the company (including cutting back on his company's workforce).[16][17]
In July 2012, Siegel said the market was rebounding, and he was expanding his businesses. He also announced plans to continue construction of the extravagant Florida home featured in The Queen of Versailles.[11]
References
- ^ "David A. Siegel". Nndb.com. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
- ^ "All Florida Marriage Collection". Ancestry.com. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ Waring, Jana (March 12, 2009). "Queen of Versailles". Playground News Magazine. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ a b "Sadelle Siegel worked into her 90s, was 'woman with golden arm' in Vegas - Orlando Sentinel". Articles.orlandosentinel.com. 2008-06-08. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
- ^ "David A. Siegel". Articles.orlandosentinel.com. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
- ^ a b c "David A. Siegel". Nndb.com. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
- ^ "Is David Siegel The Magic's Man? - Orlando Sentinel". Articles.orlandosentinel.com. 2002-02-03. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
- ^ "All Florida Marriage Collection". Ancestry.com. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ Berfield, Susan. "Inside what would be the biggest house in America - MSN Real Estate". Realestate.msn.com. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
- ^ "Inside what would be the biggest house in America - MSN Real Estate". Realestate.msn.com. Retrieved 2013-03-04.
- ^ a b Liston, Barbara (July 30, 2012). "Time-share king restarts work on Florida Versailles as business booms". Reuters.
- ^ Goldberg, Adam. "David Siegel, Florida Real Estate Mogul, Claims To Be 'Personally Responsible' For George W. Bush's 2000 Victory". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
- ^ Berfield, Susan. "Why Time-Share King David Siegel Thinks He Got Bush Elected". Business Weed. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
- ^ "Mr. Big". Orlando Magazine. June 2009. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
- ^ a b "Dawn Georgette Myers v. Central Florida Investments, Inc., David Siegel, et al" (PDF). United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2013-02-05.
- ^ Berfield, Susan (October 10, 2012). "Why David Siegel Told His Employees to Vote for Romney". Business Week.
- ^ Gawker "The CEO Who Built Himself America’s Largest House Just Threatened to Fire His Employees if Obama’s Elected"