The United States Ambassador to Italy Tilman J. Fertitta, aboard his yacht Boardwalke, will be in the port of Vibo Valentia Marina on Sunday 28 June where he will stop for two days. The Calabrian one is a stop on the «Freedom 250 Coastal Diplomacy Italy tour», a tour around the coasts of the peninsula that the ambassador and billionaire launched to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US declaration of independence and the 80th anniversary of the Italian Republic. A meeting with some local institutions is scheduled for Monday afternoon. The yacht on which he travels is 117 meters long, 18 meters wide, 35 meters high and equipped with two helipads and two swimming pools.
Fertitta today has a fortune of 8.4 billion dollars and is among the 260 richest men in the world. He is the owner of the Houston Rockets basketball team but his career spans hotels, restaurants, casinos and amusement parks. The US ambassador’s stay led to a series of particular security measures. The Port System Authority of the Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas has issued an ordinance which provides for the temporary ban of some port areas from the afternoon of Sunday 28 June until the departure of the naval units, scheduled for 30 June. In addition to Fertitta’s yacht, a naval unit of the Guardia di Finanza will also arrive in Vibo, engaged in support activities for the security device.