As the US ambassador, Tilman Fertitta actually has a villa in Rome at his disposal, but the billionaire prefers to live on his yacht and flies to appointments with the associated helicopter.
The cover image is a symbolic image by Sean Dogjani via Pexels.
Who is it about? Tilman Fertitta is not only the owner of the NBA team Houston Rockets and a chain of casinos and restaurants – since May 2025, he is also the US ambassador to Italy. As such, the billionaire is officially entitled to Villa Taverna as his official residence, which was sold to the then US government in 1948.
In contrast to his predecessors, however, Fertitta does not live on the estate, but on the Boarwalk, his 77-meter yacht, which is moored about 100 kilometers outside of Rome in the port of Civitavechhia. In addition to a wine cellar, a gym, and a pool, the yacht also features its own helicopter of the type Airbus H130, with which the ambassador flies to meetings in Rome.
According to reports, the billionaire felt disturbed by restoration work in the villa. Furthermore, the traffic in the Italian capital is intolerable. Nevertheless, Fertitta cannot completely escape the traffic, as a flight permit over Rome is reserved for the Pope and the Italian head of state.
Whenever possible, the ambassador therefore attends appointments directly with his yacht, as recently during his visit to a memorial service at the monumental cemetery near Nettuno, where 7,860 US soldiers are buried.
Another successful businessman can probably only dream of the yacht because he drove his company live on air into the ground:
An expensive fun – not just for the ambassador
The choice of residence of the billionaire seems to be received rather moderately by the Italians, as they now have to take care of the ambassador’s security not only on the officially intended estate but also on water and in the air.
Thus, the airspace above the yacht would be under constant observation by various forces, intelligence services, and the harbor authority. As a result, the superyacht joins about 4,000 sensitive objects in Rome, for whose protection the Italian state has to bear the costs.
The additional costs due to his unusual residence are probably no factor for Fertitta, as he explained in a conversation with ABC: “This is one of the things I’ve always wanted and will always have. It’s not cheap, I can tell you that… but every time I step on it, I think to myself, ‘God, I love this boat.'” (via Luxury Launches)
The benefits of life on a boat are also enjoyed by Gabe Newell, the head of Valve and Steam. In a recent interview, he revealed what a day in his life looks like: Gabe Newell tells a YouTuber with 19 subscribers how the head of Valve lives and works on a boat 7 days a week
