Leandro Rizzuto Jr. (born March 20, 1962) is an American businessman who has been announced as nominee to be ambassador to the Organization of American States in the

second Trump administration Donald Trump's second and current tenure as the president of the United States began upon his inauguration as the 47th president on January 20, 2025. On his first day, Trump pardoned about 1,500 people convicted of offenses in the Janua ...

. He was U.S. Consul General in Hamilton, Bermuda during the

first Trump administration Donald Trump's first tenure as the president of the United States began on January 20, 2017, when Trump First inauguration of Donald Trump, was inaugurated as the List of presidents of the United States, 45th president, and ended on January ...

. He was unsuccessfully nominated by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

to become the next

United States ambassador to Barbados United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

. Trump subsequently appointed him to the diplomatic post in Bermuda, a position that did not require confirmation by the Senate. He is the son of

Leandro Rizzuto Leandro P. "Lee" Rizzuto (April 10, 1938 – December 3, 2017) was an American billionaire businessman, and the chairman and co-founder of Conair Corporation, which was almost fully owned by him. Early life He was born in Brooklyn, the son of ...

, billionaire founder of

Conair Corporation Conair Corporation is an American company based in Stamford, Connecticut which sells small appliances, personal care products, and health and beauty products for both professionals and consumers. It is majority-owned by private equity firm Am ...

. Rizzuto previously worked as a senior executive in his father's company.

Early life

Leandro Rizzuto Jr. was born on March 20, 1962, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, the son of

and his wife Rita Rizzuto. Rizzuto studied marketing at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

from 1980 to 1982, but left to work for the family businesses.

Career

Rizzuto spent his entire career with

, of which his father was chairman and near 100% owner until his death in December 2017, rising to senior vice president for professional global business units. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he spread fringe conspiracy theories and made inflammatory comments about Trump's political opponents, such as

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

and Scott Walker. In January 2018,

nominated Rizzuto to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

St. Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...

, and

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

. Just two weeks later, Rizzuto pledged more than $15,000 to fund Trump's club at

Mar-a-Lago Mar-a-Lago ( , ) is a resort and National Historic Landmark on a barrier island in Palm Beach, Florida, United States. It spans 126 rooms and built on of land. Since 1985, it has been owned by Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of t ...

. Rizzuto had donated over $345,000 to the Trump campaign and state and national Republican parties in the 2016 cycle. Rizzuto's nomination failed, as the Senate sent Rizzuto's nomination back in January 2020. In May 2020, Trump gave Rizzuto the position of principal officer at the US Consulate General in Hamilton, Bermuda. This position did not require confirmation by the Senate. His appointment to the role in Bermuda was met with resistance and protest. In December 2024, Rizzuto was announced as nominee to be the

United States ambassador to the Organization of American States The following is a list of people who have served as United States Ambassador to the Organization of American States, or the full title, "United States Permanent Representative to the Organization of American States", with the rank and status of ...

in the

Personal life

He is married to Denise Rizzuto and they have three children.

References

Living people 21st-century American businesspeople Arizona State University alumni American people of Italian descent Ambassadors of the United States to Barbados Ambassadors of the United States to Saint Kitts and Nevis First Trump administration personnel 1962 births {{US-business-bio-1960s-stub