Donald Trump announced Saturday that he is tapping Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta as the next ambassador to Italy, where Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has become a European power player — and a Trump favorite.
“Tilman is an accomplished businessman who founded and built one of our nation’s premier entertainment and real estate companies, employing approximately 50,000 Americans,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to Fertitta’s ownership of the hospitality giant Landry’s, which has more than operates 600 restaurants. , casinos and hotels across the country.
Fertitta has never held political office, but has been a longtime donor to the Republican Party – including to Trump’s Save America PAC. He is also chairman of the Board of Regents of the University of Houston.
The Texas native is the latest in a line of Trump allies and donors chosen as European envoys, several of whom have no prior political experience. He joins fellow billionaires Warren Stephens and Tom Barrack as ambassadors to Britain and Turkey, and Trump family member Charles Kushner and ally Kimberly Guilfoyle as French and Greek envoys.
Like Trump, the Rockets owner also has a reality TV background, starring on CNBC’s “Billion Dollar Buyer.” Earlier on Saturday, Trump also tapped “The Apprentice” producer Mark Burnett to serve as special envoy to the United Kingdom.
The new Trump administration is expected to work closely with the Italian government. Both the president-elect and his close advisor and billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk have worked with Meloni in recent months, calling her “beautiful,” “a fantastic leader and person” and a “precious genius.”
