News Politics

Tilman J. Fertitta is new United States ambassador to Italy

By: Wanted in Rome

Date:

06 May, 2025

Fertitta owns Houston Rockets and Landry’s.

Tilman J. Fertitta, the US ambassador-designate to Italy and San Marino, arrived in Rome on Monday to take up his new post.

Nominated by US president Donald Trump, billionaire Fertitta was confirmed as Washington's new ambassador to Italy by the senate last week.

Fertitta, 67, owns the NBA's Houston Rockets pro basketball team and is known to many as the host of CNBC reality television show Billion Dollar Buyer.

He also owns hospitality giant Landry’s and the Golden Nugget chain of luxury hotels and casinos, and is the author of best-seller Shut up and Listen! Hard Business Truths that Will Help You Succeed.

Sharing a post on X by the US embassy in Rome on Monday, Tilman wrote: "I am honored to be in Italy on behalf of the American people, and I look forward to working with my wonderful new Italian colleagues in one of the greatest jobs in the world."

Welcome to Italy!

La Missione degli Stati Uniti in Italia e San Marino dà il benvenuto all'Ambasciatore-designato Tilman J. Fertitta!

https://t.co/7iiQwJBv4S pic.twitter.com/rQ012F6dxq
— Ambasciata U.S.A. (@AmbasciataUSA) May 5, 2025

“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 on his Truth Social platform last December.

“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”, Trump wrote.

Fertitta replaces Ambassador Jack Markell, a former governor of Delaware, who took up his post in Rome in August 2023 after being nominated by former US president Joe Biden.

Photo US Embassy and Consulates in Italy