Fertitta is the chairman and chief executive of Fertitta Entertainment, the owner of Golden Nugget Casinos and restaurant chain Landry's Seafood. The Houston, Texas-based business also owns Bubba Gump Shrimp and the Saltgrass Steak House. He bought the Houston Rockets, an NBA basketball team, for $2.2 billion in 2017.
Fertitta's fortune is derived from his sole ownership of Fertitta Entertainment, the Houston, Texas-based owner of Golden Nugget Casinos and restaurant chains including Bubba Gump Shrimp, Mastro's Steakhouse and Rainforest Cafe.
It's valued using 2024 earnings and the average enterprise value-to-Ebitda multiple of publicly-traded peers Brinker International Inc, Red Rock Resorts Inc, Penn Entertainment Inc, Darden Restaurants Inc and Golden Entertainment Inc.
Fertitta also owns the Houston Rockets. The basketball team is valued at $5.53 billion based on an October 2025 analysis by valuation consultants Sportico. Fertitta paid $2.2 billion for the team in September 2017, according to a Bloomberg News report.
Fertitta owns 12.4 million shares in Wynn Resorts Ltd according to a March 2025 schedule 13G filing. He received 13.2 million shares in DraftKings Inc. after its purchase of Golden Nugget's online gaming business in May 2022, which he continued to own as of May 2024, according to a person familiar with his finances who did not wish to be identified because the information is private.
Fertitta's cash and other assets include the Post Oak Hotel in Houston, San Luis Resort in Galveston and Montage in Laguna Beach, net of debt.
Fertitta was born in Galveston, Texas in 1957. The son of a restaurant owner, he moved with his family to the Houston suburbs in 1974, according to a Texas Monthly profile. He attended college for two years before dropping out.
Fertitta got his start in business opening a women's clothing store in 1978. He pivoted to Shaklee vitamin stores shortly thereafter, and soon began leasing arcade and video games to hotels and stores around Houston. He founded Fertitta Construction in 1982.
Looking for a new venture, he decided to buy out much of the leadership at Landry's restaurants in 1986. He became president and CEO of the company in 1987, and held an IPO in 1993. The company underwent a spate of acquisitions between 1996 and 2005, including Crab House Restaurants, Rainforest Cafe, Saltgrass Steak House, Grotto, La Griglia, Pesce and Golden Nugget Hotel and Casinos. Fertitta, who tried for two years to bring Landry's private again, bought the company back in October 2010, according to the Houston Chronicle. The company has since purchased McCormick & Schmick's, Morton's The Steakhouse and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
Fertitta appeared on CNBC primetime show "Billion Dollar Buyer," which premiered in March 2016. He bought the Houston Rockets, a National Basketball Association team, for $2.2 billion in September 2017.