What is Tilman Fertitta's link to Donald Trump as Sheffield Wednesday takeover edges closer | OneFootball

Takeover talk concerning Sheffield Wednesday is centring on the American billionaire Tilman Fertitta, who's described as an 'ally' of Donald Trump.

Takeover talk concerning Sheffield Wednesday has started to centre on the American billionaire Tilman Fertitta, whose close links to the US President Donald Trump are well-known.

Sheffield Wednesday have endured a summer of crisis, with the position of manager Danny Rohl completely unclear, a transfer embargo having been imposed by the EFL, and wages being paid late.

In among all of this talk, there has also been a considerable amount of takeover talk, and this has been ramped up over the last few days with reports of a "scramble" to register interest in the club, with it having become increasingly clear that current owner Dejphon Chansiri's position has become completely untenable.

One of the most prominent names to have become associated with the club in recent weeks has been that of the American businessman Tilman Fertitta, who is considered to be a close ally to the American President Donald Trump.

Fertitta's main source of income is the hospitality industry

Fertitta is already the owner of the Houston Rockets NBA team, as well as having other sporting interests. He's been reported to have a net worth of over $10 billion, having built his wealth through the Landry's restaurant chain, and now owns a number of hospitality-related businesses, as well as hotels and casinos.

His first involvement with casinos in 2005, when Landry's bought the Golden Nuggets Casinos business and expanded it, as well as opening up amusement parks and aquariums as part of the growing Landry's empire. It was through casinos that Fertitta first became involved with Donald Trump. In 2011, he bought the Trump Marina casino from Trump, renaming it as The Golden Nuggets Casino Atlantic City.

Like Trump, Fertitta also has a reality TV background, having appeared in the CNBC series “Billion Dollar Buyer.” Speaking in 2017, at the time that this show was broadcast, Fertitta said that Trump would be good for US business, specifically because he vowed to take away regulations that he felt were unnecessary.

Fertitta's connections to Trump are political as well as business

But Fertitta's connections to the US president aren't business only.

He has been involved in politics as a donor for a long time, having donated to both Bill Clinton and the Bush family, but his political profile has increased dramatically since Trump's re-election in November 2024.

In January 2025, it was confirmed that Fertitta - whose own ancestry is Sicilian - would be appointed as the United States Ambassador to Italy. “Tilman is an accomplished businessman, who has founded and built one of our Country’s premier entertainment and real estate companies, employing approximately 50,000 Americans,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time, referring to Fertitta’s ownership of Landry's.

Fertitta had never held political office before, but was formally appointed to the position in May. The Trump administration is known to deeply admire Italian President Giorgia Meloni, with the President having described her as “beautiful,” “a fantastic leader and person” and a “precious genius.”

Quite what Sheffield Wednesday supporters make of such a close ally of such a deeply divisive figure owning their club remains to be seen.