Congress passed legislation more than four decades ago suggesting that potential U.S. ambassadors either be career diplomats or career foreign service officers.
Casino owner and gaming investor Tilman Fertitta — the president’s pick to represent the U.S. in Italy — is neither.
But he is the wealthiest of President Donald Trump’s list of nearly 30 ambassador nominees, with a net worth of almost $11 billion, according to Forbes.
Under the rules established by the Foreign Service Act of 1980, U.S. government policy requires that he place his privately held business holdings into a trust or under the control of one of his top executives during the four years he hopes to serve in Italy.
