Billionaire developer David Siegel―featured with his wife, Jackie, in the documentary, “The Queen of Versailles,” about their attempts to construct the largest house in the United States (90,000 square feet)―has made it clear to his employees who they should support for president, if they want to remain employed.

Siegel, founder and CEO of Westgate Resorts, sent an email modeled on a chain letter to his 7,000 workers warning them that another four years of the Obama administration might destroy his company.

“Of course, as your employer, I can’t tell you whom to vote for, and I certainly wouldn’t interfere with your right to vote for whomever you choose. In fact, I encourage you to vote for whomever you think will serve your interests the best,” Siegel wrote.

He went on to say, however, that, “If any new taxes are levied on me, or my company, as our current President plans, I will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company.”

At the conclusion of his message, Siegel goes even further, insinuating that he might have to fold the entire operation if Obama is still in the White House after this year. “If that happens, you can find me in the Caribbean sitting on the beach, under a palm tree, retired, and with no employees to worry about.”

Siegel was having financial problems before Obama was elected president in 2008 and “Queen of Versailles” documents his struggle to save his business empire, which had been devastated by the Bush economic collapse. His business was built on heavily leveraged sales of timeshare vacation that relied on subprime mortgages being gobbled up by the marketplace.   

Siegel took vague personal credit in the movie for George W. Bush defeating Al Gore in 2000, hinting that it may have been illegal. But in an interview Siegel explained how he did it. “I had my managers do a survey on every employee [8,000 total]. If they liked Bush, we made them register to vote. But not if they liked Gore.”

Bush carried Florida, and was elected president, when the U.S. Supreme Court halted vote counting in the state, where the lead had gone back and forth between the candidates.

–Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

The CEO Who Built Himself America’s Largest House Just Threatened to Fire His Employees if Obama’s Elected (by Hamilton Nolan, Gawker)

Billionaire CEO Threatens to Fire Employees if Obama Is Re-Elected (by Eric W. Dolan, The Raw Story)

Billionaire CEO Threatens to Fire Employees if Obama Wins (by Scott Keyes, ThinkProgress)