Superyacht 'Boardwalk' of U.S. Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta is moored in the port of Naples, Italy, on Wednesday. Fertitta reportedly expressed his intention to anchor near St. Markâs Basin during the Redentore celebrations in Venice, sparking protests from environmental groups and civic organizations.Anadolu/Getty Images
In the 19th century, the United States and Britain used “gunboat diplomacy” to project power and intimidate rivals. Tilman Fertitta, the U.S. ambassador to Italy, is using what he calls “coastal diplomacy” to try to charm Italians, extend goodwill and, yes, project U.S. power − of the billionaire variety.
His weapon is not a gunboat but rather one of the biggest private yachts in the world, the new, 117-metre Boardwalk, the latest addition to the Fertitta fleet. In effect a floating embassy and party platform, the superyacht began its Italian circumnavigation on June 14. The voyage will last about two months and end in Sardinia.
“I invite you to follow me for Coastal Diplomacy 250, an amazing journey through 13 Italian coastal regions as we celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary,” Mr. Fertitta, who is of Sicilian descent, said on Instagram earlier this month. “Together, we’ll explore the ties that connect our nations, our cultures and our shared future.”
Judging from the Instagram posts, with photos of yacht guests ranging from mayors to soccer team presidents, the voyage is going well. The Boardwalk was most recently in Naples and is headed to Sicily.
Fertitta poses aboard his yacht in the port of Naples. The U.S. ambassador to Italy sought to ease tensions between the two allies, stating that relations are 'good' following the public clash between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and U.S. President Donald Trump.KONTROLAB/Getty Images
But his floating diplomacy mission may come up short in Venice, where local protesters, weary of ostentatious U.S. billionaires and their showy guests using their city as a playground, plan to disrupt the yacht’s arrival, which has been set for July 17. Their apparent model is the protests in June, 2025, that forced Amazon founder Jeff Bezos to change the location of his wedding reception in Venice and prevented the docking of two of his yachts in the lagoon city.
A local protest group called Laboratorio Occupato Morion is gearing up for similar protests. In a June 26 Facebook post, the group said Mr. Fertitta’s yacht is “an embodiment of Trump’s warmongering politics … Once again – just as with Jeff Bezos – Venice finds itself held hostage by a mega-rich figure who wants to use the city however he pleases.”
The group has called for a “massive demonstration” on the day of the expected arrival of Mr. Fertitta’s yacht, which coincides with the city’s Festa del Redentore. The festival, one of the city’s biggest parties, celebrates the end of the 16th-century bubonic plague epidemic, which killed more than 50,000 Venetians in two years.
Mr. Fertitta, 69, has not addressed the protest threats on any of his or the U.S. embassy’s social media sites.
He is a friend of President Donald Trump, who has called the billionaire his “twin,” and has contributed to his election campaigns. He was born in Texas and had an estimated net worth of US$10.7-billion last year, according to Forbes, which called him “the world’s richest restaurateur.”
He owns dining, gaming and entertainment company Landry’s, whose restaurants include the Morton’s steakhouses and Joe’s Crab Shack. Among his casinos are the Golden Nuggets in Atlantic City, Las Vegas and Lake Tahoe. He also owns a variety of resorts and the Houston Rockets NBA team, which he bought for a then-record US$2.2-billion in 2017. He is the author of the bestselling business book Shut Up and Listen!
A view from the yacht's swimming pool. The vessel reportedly cost US$450-million.KONTROLAB/Getty Images
He has been ambassador to Italy and the tiny, independent state of San Marino since April, 2025. His yachts – he has had several, all of them named Boardwalk − have been his signature diplomatic asset. He sometimes lives on them and commutes to the embassy and his official residence in Rome by helicopter from the port of Civitavecchia, about an hour’s drive north of the capital.
Boardwalk would be impossible to miss in Venice – if it were allowed to moor in the city. Its enormous bulk would dominate the skyline (Venice banned large cruise ships from the lagoon in 2021).
According to various yachting sites, it was built in Germany and launched early this year. It is the length of some navy frigates and reportedly cost US$450-million. It has two pools, two helicopter landing pads, a wine cellar, a garage for three “limo” yachts to ferry passengers to and fro from ports, a cinema, a putting green, massage and fitness rooms, a beauty salon and a “beach club.” It has 48 crew members and trans-oceanic range.