Billionaire at the Helm: US Ambassador to Italy Celebrates America’s Semiquincentennial Aboard His 384-Foot Superyacht

As US embassies around the globe launch a wave of galas to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Italy has transformed a voyage on his personal superyacht into an official diplomatic mission, TIME reports.

“To celebrate 250 years of American freedom, I am setting sail along the coast of Italy. I’ll be meeting amazing people, exploring historical sites that changed the world, and paying tribute to my own Italian heritage in Cefalù,” Tilman Fertitta announced in a video posted on the US Embassy in Italy’s official social media accounts. “And, of course, we’ll be stopping in Genoa—the birthplace of Christopher Columbus, the man who brought our two worlds together.”

Fertitta has dubbed the tour “Coastal Diplomacy.” On Sunday, he departed from the port of Civitavecchia (roughly 60 miles north of Rome) to kick off an extensive tour spanning 13 Italian regions. The journey is taking place aboard his 384-foot superyacht, Boardwalk.

A press attaché for the US Embassy in Rome did not respond to queries from TIME regarding the funding sources for the trip.

Tilman Fertitta is the owner of Landry’s Inc., a hospitality empire whose portfolio includes well-known restaurant chains such as Morton’s The Steakhouse, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., and The Palm. In 2017, he won a bidding war to purchase the Houston Rockets basketball team—a transaction that even caught the attention of Beyoncé at the time. More recently, the businessman announced a $5.7 billion deal to acquire Caesars Entertainment, the casino giant operating dozens of gaming properties.

Fertitta’s appointment as ambassador raised few eyebrows in Washington, where rewarding prolific presidential donors with prestigious diplomatic posts in European capitals is a time-honored tradition. Fertitta, who channeled a total of $1 million to Trump’s 2024 campaign through various political entities, sailed through his Senate confirmation last April with only 14 senators voting against him.

Since Fertitta assumed office last year, his personal yacht—outfitted with a wine cellar, a gym, a sky lounge, and a full-sized swimming pool—has been permanently docked north of Rome. During his first month on the job, the diplomat lived entirely on board, commuting to work via helicopter while renovations were underway at the ambassador's official residence. (The embassy stated at the time that Fertitta paid for the construction work out of his own pocket).

US ambassadors to economically developed nations are frequently expected to inject personal wealth into major projects, as well as leverage corporate sponsorships from companies eager to signal loyalty to American diplomacy or the specific White House administration. Corporate branding at embassy events is common practice—a reality that also applies to foreign diplomatic missions in Washington. In recent months, several US ambassadors have effectively fundraised tens of millions of dollars to bankroll massive Independence Day celebrations.

Even so, a superyacht tour around Italy to mark the US Semiquincentennial is anything but a standard diplomatic affair. Yet, under the current White House administration, which operates on a "bigger is better" ethos, the move appears on-brand. In Washington itself, the Trump administration is orchestrating a massive spectacle for the Fourth of July aimed at setting a world record, with plans to detonate 50 times the amount of pyrotechnics typically used in the capital’s holiday fireworks display.