HOUSTON – Tilman Fertitta, the Houston-based restaurateur, real estate developer and hotelier has been named Realty News Report’s Person of the Year for 2017.
In the Galleria area of Houston, Fertitta is wrapping up construction on 38-story mixed-use tower, with a hotel, 150,000-SF of office space and upscale residences on a 10-acre site on the West Loop near San Felipe.
The Galveston-born Fertitta, who has lived in Houston his entire adult life, made national news in 2017 with his $2.2 billion purchase of the Houston Rockets NBA basketball team.
The 60-year old business dynamo is the sole owner of Fertitta Entertainment which owns not only the NBA’s Houston Rockets, but also the massive Landry’s restaurant organization, as well as the Golden Nugget casino and hotels, the San Luis Resort in Galveston and The Westin Houston downtown, and a lot more.
Fertitta also has built several landmarks in the Houston area including the Downtown Aquarium, the Kemah Boardwalk and the Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier. In all, Fertitta owns more than 600 properties across 36 states and in over 15 countries.
He also stars of the reality show “Billion Dollar Buyer” on CNBC.
Fertitta recently cleaned up on a deal for the Joe’s Crab Shack seafood chain. Feritta sold Joe’s Crab Shack for $192 million in 2006 and bought it back in 2017 for $57 million. Deals like this are reasons why Fertitta ranks on the Forbes list of richest people with assets of $3.5 billion.
