Donald Trump will nominate CNBC’s Billion Dollar Buyer host and Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta as the United States ambassador to Italy.
Billion Dollar Buyer features Fertitta — who is also the CEO of Landry’s restaurant group — traveling the nation to sample new hospitality products. Small business owner contestants attempt to impress Fertitta in a competition to land a partnership with Landry’s. The show began in 2016 and last aired in 2018.
The Landry’s group includes Morton’s The Steakhouse, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and the Chart House restaurants, among others.
“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 Truth Social on Saturday. “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.”
On X (formerly Twitter), Fertitta wrote that the nomination was “an absolute honor.”
Fertitta also owns the Houston Rockets, as well as the Golden Nugget Hotel and Casinos chain. The businessman purchased the Atlantic City location of the Golden Nugget from Trump Entertainment Resorts in 2011; the casino was previously called the Trump Marina.
