1. Tilman Joseph Fertitta was born on June 25,1957 and is an American businessman and television personality.
47 Facts About Tilman Fertitta
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Tilman Fertitta has served as the United States ambassador to Italy and San Marino since May 2025.
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Tilman Fertitta is placed at No 248 on the Forbes 400 list.
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Tilman Fertitta became the star of Billion Dollar Buyer on CNBC.
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On September 5,2017, Tilman Fertitta reached an agreement to buy the Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion.
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Tilman Joseph Fertitta was born in Galveston, Texas, on June 25,1957.
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Tilman Fertitta attended Texas Tech University and the University of Houston, studying business administration and hospitality management but never graduated.
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Tilman Fertitta was a partner in the first Landry's Restaurant, Landry's Seafood, which opened its doors in the Houston suburb of Katy, Texas, in 1980.
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In 1986, Tilman Fertitta gained controlling interests of both locations, and in 1988, became sole owner of Landry's Restaurants.
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In 2004, Tilman Fertitta was elected to the Texas Business Hall of Fame, becoming the second-youngest Texan to ever earn that distinction, behind only Michael Dell.
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Tilman Fertitta's portfolio includes: The Golden Nugget Hotel and Casinos; Morton's The Steakhouse; Rainforest Cafe; Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
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Tilman Fertitta is the owner of the holding company Fertitta Entertainment.
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Tilman Fertitta first built the Key Largo Hotel in Galveston, Texas and then sold it in order to buy the rights to Landry's.
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Tilman Fertitta partnered with the City of Galveston to build the conference center in 2004 inside the resort.
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Tilman Fertitta since acquired two additional hotels on the island, including the Holiday Inn On the Beach in 2003, and the Hilton Galveston Island Resort in 2004, which stands adjacent to his San Luis Resort.
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In 2015, Tilman Fertitta added the Villas at San Luis section of the hotel, which consists of ultra-luxury villas with direct access to both the beach and the hotel's pool.
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In 2022 Tilman Fertitta acquired The Montage Laguna Beach for approximately $650 million.
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Tilman Fertitta purchased this casino from Trump Entertainment Resorts in 2011.
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The Golden Nugget Lake Charles was bought after Tilman Fertitta found a license and resort land for sale from Pinnacle Entertainment, which owns the adjacent L'Auberge du Lac Resort.
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Tilman Fertitta stated he built the casino with the idea of having a casino in close proximity to his Houston hometown.
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Tilman Fertitta added the Boardwalk FantaSea, which is a luxury yacht cruise service where guests ride along the Galveston Bay.
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Tilman Fertitta redeveloped the pleasure pier in Galveston, Texas, after the pier had closed after damages by Hurricane Ike.
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Tilman Fertitta was a partner of Texans owner Bob McNair until 2008 when he had to sell his interest in the franchise because he owns the Golden Nugget casino chain and NFL rules state any staff member of a team cannot be associated with gambling.
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In 2003, Tilman Fertitta bought the naming rights to the Crawford Boxes seating section of Daikin Park, calling it "Landry's Crawford Boxes".
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On October 6,2017, Tilman Fertitta was approved by the NBA to own the Houston Rockets.
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Tilman Fertitta paid for the Rockets by selling $1.415 billion worth of bonds and was competing with Houston-native singer Beyonce Knowles to purchase the team.
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Tilman Fertitta has continually stated his interest in owning a hockey team and believes that one would boost the economy of downtown Houston.
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In September 2024, it was reported by Andy Strickland that for the upcoming board of governors meeting regarding expansion, Houston was one of the leading candidates for expansion, with Tilman Fertitta's bid being the frontrunner for the city.
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In 2024, Tilman Fertitta expressed interest in bringing back a WNBA franchise to Houston, which would be their second team since the Houston Comets folded in 2008.
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Tilman Fertitta partnered with Richard Handler and announced a special-purpose acquisition company called Landcadia, a portmanteau of Tilman Fertitta's Landry's and Handler's Leucadia.
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On May 16,2018, Tilman Fertitta announced that Landcadia would acquire Waitr.
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On March 1,2024, it was reported that Tilman Fertitta had purchased the River Oaks District, one of Houston's most prominent mixed-use developments, for $450 million.
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Tilman Fertitta is known to support political leaders in both the Republican and Democratic parties.
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In particular, Tilman Fertitta has been a supporter of both Bill Clinton and the Bush family.
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Together with his spouse, Tilman Fertitta contributed $140,000 to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign and $5,600 to Joe Biden's 2020 presidential campaign.
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Tilman Fertitta funded the reelection campaign for many state Republicans in 2022, notably donating over $1.1 million to Greg Abbott.
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On December 21,2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced the nomination of Tilman Fertitta to serve as the United States ambassador to Italy and San Marino.
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Tilman Fertitta presented his credentials to President Sergio Mattarella on May 6,2025.
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In 1991 Tilman Fertitta married Paige Farwell with whom he has four children, a daughter and three sons.
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Tilman Fertitta is second-cousin to former UFC owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta.
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An avid sports fan, Tilman Fertitta is a vocal supporter of the University of Houston Cougars and can be seen at most Cougar football and men's basketball games as well as court side for Houston Rockets basketball games.
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In 2016, Tilman Fertitta donated $20 million to rebuild the University of Houston's basketball home of Hofheinz Pavilion, since renamed Tilman Fertitta Center, along with donations for the construction of TDECU Stadium.
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Tilman Fertitta is a close friend of retired NASA astronaut and Arizona senator Mark Kelly, and his wife, former Arizona congresswoman Gabby Giffords.
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Tilman Fertitta is chairman of the board of the Houston Children's Charity.
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In 2008, Tilman Fertitta was named chairperson of the Houston Police Department's Police Foundation, supplying gear and equipment for Houston Police Officers.
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Tilman Fertitta is on the executive committee for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
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Tilman Fertitta is a board member of the Texas Heart Institute, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and the Greater Houston Partnership.