President-elect Donald Trump introduced Saturday he would nominate Houston billionaire hospitality mogul Tilman Fertitta to function U.S. ambassador to Italy.
Fertitta, proprietor of the Houston Rockets and Landry’s restaurant group, is a prolific political donor who hosted a fundraiser for Trump at his Publish Oak Lodge in Houston earlier this 12 months. He has donated thousands and thousands to Texas politicians from each events, with most of his contributions flowing to Republicans, together with 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 submit on his social media platform Fact 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 2 phrases on the College of Houston System Board of Regents, the place he has served the final decade as chair.
Fertitta, 67, has ancestral roots within the area. His great-great-uncles have been Sicilian immigrants who settled in Galveston and operated the island’s Balinese Room nightclub, which famously doubled as an unlawful on line casino. Fertitta owns the Golden Nugget Accommodations & Casinos chain, together with a stake within the Las Vegas-based on line casino operator Wynn Resorts.
Fertitta has a internet price of greater than $10 billion, in accordance with Forbes.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Fertitta will succeed Jack Markell, the previous Delaware governor, who has served as U.S. ambassador to Italy since 2023.
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