He loved London and admired the British, as is reflected in his films The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962), both of which won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture.

In a review in Variety of Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni's biography of Spiegel, Wendy Smith notes: "It's all here: the sleazy financial maneuvers and creepy taste for underage girls that make Spiegel a decidedly flawed protagonist, as well as the wit, sophistication, and Old World charm that make him a titanic figure the likes of which the movie industry will not see again.

"[5] Spiegel won the Academy Award for Best Picture for Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront as well as for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962), both directed by Briton David Lean.

American actress Theresa Russell alleged that she was sexually propositioned by Spiegel during her first casting session for his 1976 film The Last Tycoon.

[9] Spiegel was married three times: to Rachel Agronovich from 1922 to 1926, with whom he had one daughter; to the actress Lynn Baggett, from 1948 to 1953, and to Betty Benson (1930-2013), from 1957 until his death.

He spoke eight languages fluently: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Hebrew and Yiddish.

David Bottoms, decided to transfer Spiegel's impressive art collection to the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.