Peter Spiegel

Peter Spiegel is an American infomercial entrepreneur And Co-CEO of Ideal Living.

Career

Before creating Ideal Living he worked as a jeweler in New York and later taught transcendental meditation.

Spiegel cofounded Ideal Living with his "life partner" Katie Williams in 1999. Today the company primarily sells air purifiers and water purifiers. It owns the brands AromaTru, AirDoctor and AquaTru.

Spiegel is the director of Sylmark, a holding company for Ideal Living.

Personal life

Spiegel claimed in a LinkedIn post that he and Katie Williams were invited to the JP Morgan founders forum.

Ties to Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat

Spiegel is a member of the Hindu religious organization Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat. As of September 28, 2008, Spiegel was the treasurer of the Barsana Dham, originally called the International Society of Divine Love, the American branch of the JKP. Barsana Dham used Ideal Living products such as "miracle blade" to help fund their operations.

JKP leader, Prakashanand Saraswati, was convicted of groping two young girls in his ashram in Hays County, Texas. A 12-person jury declared Saraswati guilty of 20 counts of child molestation, after 50 minutes deliberation, on Friday 4 March 2011. Though convicted, he was released after Peter Spiegel "put up a $1 million cash BOND". Spiegel had previously "signed a $10 million indemnity agreement in October 2008". According to the Austin American-Statesman, Spiegel's attorney Barry Hitchings said that he would contest the agreement. Spiegel said that he was one of AbOUT 40 followers present for a Sunday dinner at Marsha Kent's home with Prakashanand Saraswati the evening before Saraswati left the country. Spiegel said, "It never entered my mind that he wouldn't come" to trial. As part of the bond condition, Saraswati was barred from entering the Barsana Dham.