Billionaire CEO Threatens to Fire Employees If Obama Wins

By Scott Keyes, ThinkProgress

13 October 12

he CEO of a massive timeshare company sent an email about the upcoming election to his employees yesterday, threatening to fire some of them if President Obama wins re-election.

David Siegel, who owns Florida-based Westgate Resorts, sent an email to all his employees yesterday to discuss the upcoming election. "The economy doesn't currently pose a threat to your job," Siegel wrote, noting that the company is "the most profitable [it's] ever been." "What does threaten your job however, is another 4 years of the same Presidential administration." He went on to say that although he "can't tell you whom to vote for," if Obama is re-elected, it would mean "fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone."

Here are a few select paragraphs from the email:

Subject: Message from David Siegel
Date:Mon, 08 Oct 2012 13:58:05 -0400 (EDT)
From: [David Siegel]
To: [All employees]
To All My Valued Employees,

As most of you know our company, Westgate Resorts, has continued to succeed in spite of a very dismal economy. There is no question that the economy has changed for the worse and we have not seen any improvement over the past four years. In spite of all of the challenges we have faced, the good news is this: The economy doesn't currently pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is another 4 years of the same Presidential administration. 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.

However, let me share a few facts that might help you decide what is in your best interest.

[...]

So where am I going with all this? It's quite simple. 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. Rather than grow this company I will be forced to cut back. This means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.

So, when you make your decision to vote, ask yourself, which candidate understands the economics of business ownership and who doesn't? Whose policies will endanger your job? Answer those questions and you should know who might be the one capable of protecting and saving your job. While the media wants to tell you to believe the "1 percenters" are bad, I'm telling you they are not. They create most of the jobs. If you lose your job, it won't be at the hands of the "1%"; it will be at the hands of a political hurricane that swept through this country.

You can view the email in full here.

Siegel earned national notoriety this year for his quest to build the biggest house in America, "a sprawling, 90,000-square-foot mansion inspired by Versailles."

In a bizarre twist, Siegel's email was modeled after a fake letter that made the rounds on the internet during the last presidential election. He confirmed his own email's authenticity in a phone call to Gawker, saying that "it speaks the truth" and gives employees "something to think about when they go to the polls."

ThinkProgress reached out to Siegel for comment, but no response was given.