Tilman J. Fertitta, the U.S. ambassador to Rome, is summering on his superyacht as President Trump squabbles with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy.

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By Motoko RichVisuals by Gianni Cipriano

Motoko Rich and Gianni Cipriano reported from Tilman J. Fertitta’s yacht and from Cefalù, Sicily.

July 18, 2026

In recent weeks, while President Trump was locked in an unusually testy standoff with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy, the United States ambassador to Rome was on a monthslong tour of Italy’s coastline aboard his $450 million superyacht.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5883826&forum_id=2#50007938)

While sailing around Sicily, he and his wife, Lauren Fertitta, spotted the village of Acciaroli. “I said, Look at this cute little town,” Mr. Fertitta recalled. “Let’s stop there.”

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5883826&forum_id=2#50007956)

lauren and tilman fertita, and debbie sukin texas childrens hospital https://b1471474.smushcdn.com/1471474/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Lauren-and-Tilman-Fertitta-alongside-Debbie-Sukin-Photo-by-Jenny-Antill.jpg?lossy=2&strip=1&webp=1

from a forbes story:

But for now, life is good. Fertitta intends to spend 30 nights a year on Boardwalk. This summer he had his ex-wife, Paige, and their four kids there for a week. Their 2017 split was amicable. He has been married for two years to Lauren Ware, formerly a litigation counsel for Landry’s.

Fertitta acknowledges it’s a complicated time to be so flashy. “The world has changed. People hate billionaires,’’ he laments, especially those who have become so much richer during the pandemic. “Go look at social media—I never posted one thing about the new boat. As public as I am, I’m also very private,” he says. You’ll never see selfies from his yacht on Instagram. “And remember, it was [Forbes] who asked me” for a tour of Boardwalk.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5883826&forum_id=2#50009439)

Tilman Joseph Fertitta was born in Galveston, Texas,[12] on June 25, 1957.[13] He is of Sicilian descent.[14] His father, Vic, owned a seafood restaurant on Galveston Island, and after school, Tilman worked peeling shrimp in his father's restaurant.[15]

Fertitta attended Texas Tech University and the University of Houston, studying business administration and hospitality management but never graduated.[16] His first entrepreneurial experience involved selling and promoting Shaklee vitamins.[17]

In the 1980s, Fertitta bought Landry's in Katy, Texas from brothers Bill and Floyd Landry after being introduced by his cousin. The Landry brothers were from Lafayette and started the restaurant in the 1970s.

(https://xoxohth.com/thread.php?thread_id=5883826&forum_id=2#50009440)