From the biggest home in America to luxury bunkers, CNBC’s new series Secret Lives of the Super Rich is a fascinating, jaw-dropping look at what money can buy. This is one rare open house you don’t want to miss, as Secret Lives of the Super Rich premieres tonight (Wed., Sept. 25) at 9pm ET/PT, with a new episode immediately following at 9:30pm ET/PT. The series will air Wednesdays on CNBC.
CNBC wealth editor Robert Frank hosts the series, and introduces viewers to the homes and sometimes the owners. In the first episode, you’ll see America’s biggest home, which is just 14 miles from Florida’s Disney World and is owned by the infamous billionaire David Siegel and his wife Jackie. David started as a TV repairman and made his fortune as owner of America’s largest timeshare company Westgate Resorts
. Jackie, you may recall, was the subject of the 2012 documentary Queen of Versailles, which chronicled the building of their dream home Versailles.
The couple actually stopped construction of their Versailles home in 2008 when their home was put in foreclosure and they were over a billion dollars in debt. The Siegels have since bought back the home and resumed construction and estimate completion in 2015. Frank thinks their story could be one of the most dramatic financial comebacks.
“We went on a honeymoon and we took a tour of Versailles and my husband said, ‘That’s it. I’m going to be build you Versailles in America,’” Jackie tells.
The Siegel’s Versailles is 90,000 square feet and includes 13 bedrooms, 11 kitchens, 30 bathrooms, a two-story theater, a bowling alley, a roller skate rink, a spa and a garage that holds 20 cars. The wood comes from South America, the stained glass is valued at over one-half a million and their marble required an entire quarry in Italy to be excavated and cost a mere $5 million. Ouch!
There are actually so many rooms in this house that it’s hard for Jackie to keep track of them all when touring. Their master suite is 6,000 square feet alone. Now, throughout the show, fun, pop-up factoids will appear to help viewers wrangle just how big or expensive something truly is. (Quick fact: Did you know the average U.S. home is 2,392 square feet? That’s not even half the size of their bedroom.) And, the couple’s closet could definitely fit a starter home. The home’s opening foyer and ballroom area is planned for hosting parties and charity events where Jackie believes she can comfortably seat 500 guests; however, if she opens the French doors and includes the patio it would be more like 1,000. You’ve really got to see it to believe it.
You’ll also get access to a “whisper listing,” which is a property that doesn’t exist on the market but could be considered for sale if you are “super rich.” Dolly Lenz, New York City super broker, is working with a Chinese billionaire who has purchased more than $100 million in NYC properties. She gets access to a “whisper listing” in Beverly Hills, which means you get to go along, too. For privacy and security reasons the show can’t disclose the owners, the street or the neighborhood — although we do learn that Rupert Murdoch is in the neighborhood. You’ll see inside this 42,000 square foot compound, complete with security towers. The home features five buildings, 28 bedrooms and 36 bathrooms, in addition to their own personal orchard and copyrighted carpeting (something I’m sure many of you look for). The upkeep alone for this home is estimated at $5 million a year and the owner reportedly only uses the house maybe once or twice a year. #GrossWasteOfMoney
Now the wealthy also can afford a bunker in preparation for end of the world. Super Rich introduces viewers to Larry Hall, a developer who took a decommissioned missile silo in central Kansas and turned it into luxury bunker homes. This thing is sweet. Hall’s survival condo complex can support 70 people, but don’t get too excited – it’s going to cost you AND it’s already sold out. (He’s got a waiting list while silo 2 is currently under construction.) To rent a full floor in this bunker it would cost you $3 million, a half-floor condo is $1.5 million. But you are guaranteed some famous neighbors; Hall says his clients include former NFL players, authors and a few movie stars. (Although, is it better to have a movie star neighbor or an average-joe electrician or plumber when it comes to the apocalypse?) The luxury missile condo is also equipped with a pharmacy that can support residents for seven years, plus hydroponic food, aquaponic farming and a ton of military-grade security and survival enhancements.
Secret Lives of the Rich and Famous Episode 2 details
In the second episode (Sept. 25 at 9:30pm ET/PT), viewers are invited to a mega-wedding planned by celebrity party planner Colin Cowie for millionaire Fletcher Jones and his wife Darlene Jones. Fletcher has amassed a fortune selling luxury cars (he has nationwide dealerships for Mercedes-Benz, Porshe, Audi, Land Rover and Jaguar) and is reportedly worth over $300 million. Darlene Kurtis was Playboy Playmate of the Year in 2002. The two met, fell in love, wedded once and liked it so much they wedded again. But here’s the thing, now they are doing it again. While they could just opt for an elaborate party vs. another trip down the aisle, the couple is generously treating their 400-plus guests to an over-the-top celebration at the Beverly Hilton and Secret Lives is there to capture it.
When Frank introduces viewers to Fletcher and Darlene Jones he gives a hierarchy to the ways in which people flaunt their wealth, saying there is quiet money, loud money and megaphone money — this couple is “megaphone money people” and their THIRD wedding certainly supports that.
Then it’s on to Aspen, Colo., where Frank introduces viewers to Joshua Saslove, who’s brokered over $3 billion of real estate in Aspen. Saslove takes viewers on a tour of Aspen’s most expensive home, which is called Four Peaks and is now up for sale for $75 million. The owner of the home is a successful children’s book author who is looking to downsize. The home is 18,000 square feet and sits on 800 acres of land. The kitchen alone took over a year to build. It includes a spa, private beach, movie theater and breathless views. Interested anyone?!
