Donald Trump picks Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta as ambassador to Italy

President-elect Donald Trump announced Saturday he would nominate Houston billionaire hospitality mogul Tilman Fertitta to serve as U.S. ambassador to Italy.

Fertitta, owner of the Houston Rockets and Landry’s restaurant group, is a prolific political donor who hosted a fundraiser for Trump at his Post Oak Hotel in Houston earlier this year. He has donated millions to Texas politicians from both parties, with most of his contributions flowing to Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott.

“Tilman is an accomplished businessman, who has founded and built one of our Country’s premier entertainment and real estate companies, employing approximately 50,000 Americans,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social. “Tilman has a long history of giving back to the community through numerous philanthropic initiatives, which include children’s charities, Law Enforcement, and the medical community.”

Abbott has appointed Fertitta to two terms on the University of Houston System Board of Regents, where he has served the last decade as chair.

Fertitta, 67, has ancestral roots in the region. His great-great-uncles were Sicilian immigrants who settled in Galveston and operated the island’s Balinese Room nightclub, which famously doubled as an illegal casino. Fertitta owns the Golden Nugget Hotels & Casinos chain, along with a stake in the Las Vegas-based casino operator Wynn Resorts.

Fertitta has a net worth of more than $10 billion, according to Forbes.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Fertitta will succeed Jack Markell, the former Delaware governor, who has served as U.S. ambassador to Italy since 2023.

Disclosure: University of Houston has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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