Posted on 08/31/2026 2:27:07 PM PDT by DFG
Theodore Roosevelt was famous for gunboat diplomacy.
But Donald Trump's ambassador to Italy has found a rather more luxurious way to win friends: love boat diplomacy.
Billionaire entertainment mogul Tilman Fertitta, 69, is wooing foreign officials from the deck of his $450 million mega yacht, the Boardwalk, as he cruises around Italy on a two-and-a-half-month 'Coastal Diplomatic Tour.'
The 383ft vessel boasts two helipads, two swimming pools, four hot tubs, a fully equipped spa, scuba room, putting green and cinema, with business tycoons and sports personalities rubbing shoulders with government officials at lavish receptions.
Fertitta, the world's 312th-richest person according to Forbes, is also joined on board by his wife Lauren Ware Fertitta and their five-year-old daughter, Elle.
CNN, which toured the yacht, found deckhands polishing chrome railings and pillows being plumped before guests arrived, while Fertitta showed off the floating mansion's family kitchen and its stocked fridge.
The cruise comes at Fertitta's own expense - apart from security provided by the Italian government. He estimates the coastal tour will cost him about $1 million, with the voyage also serving as a celebration of America's 250th anniversary and a way to avoid renovations at his official residence in Rome.
But for some Italians, the billionaire's floating summer of excess is beginning to feel less like Roman Holiday and more like the last days of Rome.
Fertitta's extravagance has sparked protests and prompted questions about the cost to Italy. The Boardwalk was greeted by demonstrators when it docked in Venice last month, with chants of 'No space for billionaires' and 'Venice is not the United States.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.com ...
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Being an Ambassador has it’s perks.
Nice barge.
It’s his own money. It is a gift to America.
Ok daily Mail, nobody cares. No, Body.
Guess he has a yacht. So?
It's his boat and he can do what he wants to.
Yes? And? What is the Ambassador supposed to do? Insult the country and it’s influential citizens? So the pinkos at the DM can be happy?
Fury?
Who’s furious?
I’m not furious. Are you furious>
Maybe a furry is furrious about it ...
Wait a minute. That’s not flying an American flag.
Where is that boat registered?
I like Italy but maybe they’d have more billionaires if they were not notoriously corrupt.
Italians have told me it’s nearly impossible to get ahead there unless your family already has a business.
Every guy should aspire to work hard, build their business, and purchase a yacht 🛥️ like that! More yachts can always be built
Ah, the Daily Fail.
Quelle suprise.
wow, Russia has a lot of billionaires cause it is notoriously corrupt
China has a lot of billionaires cause it is notoriously corrupt
USA has a lot of super rich congress critters and billionaires cause it it notoriously corrupt
not sure what corruption has to do with it
The reason why billionaires love these ocean going yachts is so they can do illegal things in open water, outside of nationalized waters.
Looks like the American flag up by the radar.
Tilman Joseph Fertitta (shown w/ his 5 children) is an American diplomat, businessman and television personality. He serves as the United States ambassador to Italy and San Marino since May 2025. He is the owner of the entertainment company Landry's, as well as the National Basketball Association's Houston Rockets.
The people who are “furious” are the same type who watch reality TV like MTV Cribs, Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous, or Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. They aren’t really upset about this, they are just manufacturing outrage for the leftist echo chamber. These people are simply lunatics with not logic or consistent world view except their own emotional outburts.
Agree. He’s there to make friends and influence people.
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