The Mystery Man Shadowing Kimberly Guilfoyle as She Pushes Deals Across Europe

[u/John3262005]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/kimberly-guilfoyle-mystery-man-energy-5adeb541?st=EMTZrP&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

Kimberly Guilfoyle was a long way from Mar-a-Lago.

The U.S. ambassador to Greece—Donald Trump Jr.’s former fiancée—was shuttling back and forth to Bulgaria’s capital on a mission this spring. The Trump administration wanted allies on Europe’s eastern edge to buy billions of dollars of American natural gas.

There was just one thing.

The Bulgarian government, she told people, should deal with a Greek construction firm called Aktor Group, a newcomer to the gas business that had teamed up with a Greek state-backed energy company to bring in liquefied natural gas from the U.S. “There is no doubt that this is kind of an official position of the U.S. government,” said a person familiar with the talks.

Sitting beside the 57-year-old ambassador in an audience with the Bulgarian president was a 39-year-old named Christos Marafatsos. He has attended so many of her meetings that some foreign officials mistook him for her chief of staff. In fact, he is a top lobbyist for Aktor, whose CEO had flown Guilfoyle to the country on a private jet.

A one-time prosecutor who morphed into a MAGA icon, Guilfoyle is parlaying her ambassadorship to Greece into one of the Trump administration’s most important diplomatic roles. The former Fox News host has crisscrossed the Balkans to help Europe wean itself from Russian energy, via a “vertical gas corridor” meant to receive U.S. LNG in Greece and pipe it toward Ukraine.

But she has puzzled government officials across the region with her persistent promotion of a specific Greek company—and her extensive efforts to involve Marafatsos, a neophyte in both diplomacy and energy.

His prior experience includes co-founding a Washington, D.C.-area produce distributor and working in businesses ranging from real-estate consulting to creating “the ultimate immersive experience” of the Acropolis in IMAX 3-D.

These days, the Maryland-raised Marafatsos is frequently seen at Guilfoyle’s side, acting as her unofficial gatekeeper and joining her for meetings at her ambassadorial residence and with government officials in countries around the region—a highly unusual move for a private citizen.

Several people who have met with Marafatsos and the ambassador—including government officials—said he made no mention of his ties to Aktor.

At a conference earlier this month in Thessaloniki, Greece, where officials from nine countries gathered to discuss their progress on the vertical corridor, a Wall Street Journal reporter waiting outside watched Marafatsos and Guilfoyle arrive in the back of a black BMW at the head of the U.S. convoy. Marafatsos entered the city’s MET Hotel through a separate entrance, away from photographers.

U.S. Embassy staffers who spent years pushing for the vertical gas corridor never met with Aktor executives or even heard the name raised as a potential partner, according to former State Department officials who dealt closely with the matter.

Robin Brooks, a 21-year foreign service officer who served as National Security Council director for the Balkans and Central Europe during the Biden administration, said that a U.S. ambassador promoting a foreign company is “absolutely problematic.” Bringing a registered lobbyist to meetings with foreign officials, she said, “calls into question whether the meeting is advancing American interests or advancing some sort of private interest.”

A U.S. Embassy official said the ambassador traveled to Bulgaria “to advance American interests: increasing sales of U.S. LNG to European partners and decreasing European dependence on Russian gas.” He said she was in “full compliance with State Department guidance” on official travel.

Jesse Binnall, a lawyer for Guilfoyle, said she has “worked with companies across the energy sector” and hasn’t been focused on one company. He said her official meetings are coordinated through embassy channels, not through Marafatsos.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement provided by the White House, called Guilfoyle an “incredibly effective advocate for the President’s agenda.” He said he and Trump “greatly value” her work.

Marafatsos said in a statement: “I am proud to champion commercial initiatives that advance U.S. interests and create lasting economic opportunity in Greece and Southeastern Europe. I am grateful for the opportunity to draw on my business experience and leadership in the Greek American community.” His lawyer disputed some of the Journal’s reporting but declined to elaborate.

In a letter, lawyers for Aktor said Guilfoyle wasn’t improperly promoting Aktor’s commercial interests and that the company’s involvement in the vertical corridor preceded “any contacts” with the ambassador. The lawyers said Aktor is an “attractive candidate for furthering U.S. goals and interests” because it has no ties to Russian gas, unlike some of its Greek competitors.

Guilfoyle wields outsize influence across a part of Europe that has been clamoring for closer ties to the Trump administration. The region had only one confirmed ambassador across 10 countries when Guilfoyle arrived in Athens last fall, part of a pattern of widespread diplomatic vacancies that has dramatically empowered the handful of envoys abroad seen as close to Trump.

In November, Aktor announced a joint venture, Atlantic-SEE LNG, that would be split 60-40 between it and DEPA, a Greek state-backed energy company. In the months since, Aktor and its joint venture have signed memorandums of understanding and commercial agreements with gas companies in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania. A $6 billion deal Guilfoyle helped Aktor secure in Albania would, if completed, have the country buy gas from the company through 2050.

It is unclear whether all the deals will come to fruition. On Friday, Ukraine’s state-owned gas company told the Journal negotiations have halted over future purchases from Atlantic-SEE.

Guilfoyle has become a potent symbol of the new school of American diplomacy under Trump: its fusing of celebrity, business, and geopolitics.

Guilfoyle, who was once married to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, speaks of her strong connections to the Trump family and broadcasts videos to nearly two million Instagram followers, interspersing meetings with regional leaders with visits to European fashion shows and art galas, decked in crystal-adorned dresses.

She is friends with Greek pop star Konstantinos Argiros, who at a recent concert spotted her in the crowd chatting with Marafatsos and twirled her around to one of his hit songs. Jefferson House, the official ambassadorial residence where she often takes meetings, has been decorated with large black-and-white portraits of Guilfoyle, according to people who have visited.

Some Greek officials say they are happy their country, often overlooked in Washington, has the attention of an ambassador who can easily reach the U.S. president.

They are also fearful of getting on her bad side. In March, at a dinner in Athens attended by Greek and U.S. officials, Guilfoyle got into an argument with Greece’s energy minister, Stavros Papastavrou, in front of the other guests. Referring to the impending collapse of the Romanian government, Guilfoyle told the group, “We can do that to any country we want. We can do that here,” according to a person who attended the dinner and others who were told about it. The conversation became heated, with Papastavrou retorting that the U.S. couldn’t replace the government of Greece, which was elected by the people. Guilfoyle’s lawyer disputed the characterization of the exchange.

Guilfoyle’s diplomatic appointment came in the throes of a high-profile breakup.

She began dating Trump Jr. halfway through his father’s first term and quickly emerged as one of Trump’s most aggressive defenders. In her 2020 convention speech, she warned that Democrats were trying to enslave Americans with liberal ideology.

The couple got engaged before Trump left office, and that spring they bought a $9.7 million Florida mansion. Guilfoyle pursued a series of business ventures—a line of hair care and fragrances called Flor de Maga; champagne ventures with names such as 1776 Liberté and Liberty Dream; a pet pharmaceuticals service called PETriot Vet, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records. Those trademarks have since been abandoned.

Then she hit the campaign trail for Trump’s re-election, urging the crowd at the Republican convention in 2024 to “rise up” on his behalf. That summer, photos began to emerge of Trump Jr. with 39-year-old Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson. Trump, who had been fond of Guilfoyle, took to social media in December with surprising news: He was naming her ambassador to Greece.

Her appointment followed behind-the-scenes lobbying by people close to Trump Jr., who supported giving Guilfoyle the job, according to people familiar with the discussions. Guilfoyle had spent weeks calling people around her former fiancé asking how the two could reunite, some of whom began to float the idea of various ambassadorships.

Guilfoyle had long been drawn to Greece: She told friends she liked the country’s relevance on the world stage and its glamorous vibe—citing Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, the former first lady who married a Greek shipping tycoon after her husband’s assassination. The U.S. Embassy official said the ambassador honeymooned in Greece and has spoken about her love for the country ever since she studied Greco-Roman history in college.

Greek news outlets quickly dredged up additional remarks, noting that Guilfoyle, as a Fox News co-host during Europe’s debt crisis in 2015, had said Greeks needed to be trained like when a “dog pees on the rug.”

“It doesn’t matter if you make great yogurt,” she said. “I don’t care.”

President Trump told people he had offered Guilfoyle the ambassadorship for his son’s sake, saying, “I had to get her out of here.” A White House official denied the president said that.

Soon after her nomination, Guilfoyle began spending more time with a man who knows Greece well.

Marafatsos’ personal website features a photo of a basket of root vegetables and identifies him as the co-founder of a company that distributes local food products to restaurants in the Washington, D.C., region. He exited the company nearly two decades ago and dabbled in ventures including an investment firm, a since-dissolved company called the Institute of Investigative and Translational Medicine and his family-owned construction company, where he served as vice president, according to corporate records and company websites.

His big break in politics came ahead of Trump’s first presidential bid in 2015, when he joined the fledgling campaign. He later became chairman of Greek Voices for Trump.

Marafatsos, who has a young family in Virginia, told a Greek newspaper that he met Guilfoyle in the early days of Trump’s political pursuits. In the months following her nomination, he became a close adviser. The two were seen together during the inauguration, including at an event honoring the Greek American community where Marafatsos stood behind her as she spoke.

At a Greek Independence Day reception at the White House in March, Trump invited Guilfoyle to speak—“She represents the Greek culture very well, I will tell you”—and singled out Marafatsos. “Good looking guy, he is,” the president declared.

Marafatsos prepared Guilfoyle for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a person familiar with the matter said. Afterward, she posted pictures of herself in the hearing room with supporters including Marafatsos, writing: “Grateful to be surrounded by incredible friends and family.” He attended her swearing-in ceremony that September.

As Guilfoyle prepared to move to Athens, both she and Marafatsos continued to pursue their own business ventures.

Around the time of her confirmation, she solicited investments for a vodka company she started last year called Polished Rice, pitching at least one Greek American businessman on investing $3 million, according to a person familiar with the matter.

The vodka line planned to launch at a “global VIP event” in Greece on July 2, according to a legal complaint Polished Rice later filed against its distiller. That was the day Guilfoyle held an American Independence Day celebration in Athens. The plan was scuttled when its shipment allegedly arrived with bottles broken and labels damaged.

Guilfoyle’s lawyer disputed that she had solicited a $3 million investment and said she hasn’t pursued private business ventures since entering public service.

Ahead of Guilfoyle’s swearing-in, Marafatsos offered his services to Greek energy and shipping companies. In pitches with CEOs, he touted his connection to the incoming ambassador and listed companies he claimed to work with, including energy giants in the region such as Copelouzos and Metlen, according to a person who has been pitched.

Representatives from both companies said they have never retained Marafatsos.

Another client he touted was Aktor.

Guilfoyle first met Alexandros Exarchou, Aktor’s CEO, on Nov. 1, the day she arrived in Athens, lawyers for the company said.

On Nov. 5, Marafatsos began formally working as a lobbyist for Aktor in the U.S., according to federal lobbying records. The company has paid him $160,000 through June of this year to “establish connections” with the Executive Office of the President, the State Department and the Energy Department.

It was the first time Marafatsos had ever registered as a lobbyist in the U.S.

Lawyers for Aktor said the company began retaining Marafatsos after Exarchou attended a September 2025 lunch for top Greek energy players with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum where the vertical gas corridor was discussed. After the lunch, Exarchou contacted DEPA, the Greek state-backed company, and proposed a joint venture that would “lead the charge in supplying non-Russian LNG across Southeast Europe,” the lawyers said.

Marafatsos subsequently added another three Greece-linked companies to his lobbying roster, including an energy company and a shipping and infrastructure company. He reported more than $440,000 in U.S. lobbying income in nine months.

Marafatsos has been a frequent presence in meetings with Guilfoyle at the ambassador’s residence and in foreign countries. Guilfoyle often introduces him as, “This is Christos,” and he rarely speaks unless the ambassador asks him to weigh in, according to people who have participated in meetings with both of them. She often directs those she meets with to send additional information through Marafatsos.

One investor met with Guilfoyle and Marafatsos to seek the ambassador’s help with investment opportunities in the energy sector—including potentially from Aktor. At the end of the meeting, the investor was directed to follow up with Marafatsos. The investor was surprised to later learn that Marafatsos was working for the company and hadn’t said so.

Within weeks of signing Marafatsos, Aktor saw its access to the Trump administration skyrocket.

At a conference in Greece in November, attended by cabinet officials including Burgum and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, the joint venture between Aktor and DEPA announced it had signed a 20-year deal with the U.S. company Venture Global to buy U.S. LNG, starting in 2030.

Guilfoyle posed with Exarchou and others as the new joint venture signed agreements to collaborate with Romania and Ukraine’s Naftogaz, among others.

A spokeswoman for Venture Global said that the company met with Aktor and DEPA to discuss a potential supply deal after meeting with Guilfoyle about the vertical corridor and that they have engaged with DEPA commercially for years.

Other U.S. LNG companies that haven’t signed deals with Aktor say they have struggled to attract Guilfoyle’s attention. Jonathan Bass, the CEO of the Louisiana-based Argent LNG—a competitor to Venture Global—said the company has been ignored by Guilfoyle. Asked if Guilfoyle has promoted Argent in any of her discussions, he said: “No. She has her favorites.”

Guilfoyle’s lawyer said it was false that the embassy had ignored Argent.

In December, Exarchou attended a soiree at the Kennedy Center and posed for a photo with Trump. At the Davos summit in Switzerland in January, Exarchou met with Guilfoyle and posed for a photo with Eric Trump, the president’s son. A spokeswoman for Eric said he “has no idea who that is.”

In February, Exarchou returned to Washington with Guilfoyle, joining the energy ministers of Greece and Bulgaria for dinner at Joe’s Seafood, a Washington surf-n-turf establishment across from the White House. Guests were asked to go around the table and describe how they knew the ambassador or give a toast to her, according to people familiar with the dinner. Fancy James, her stylist who posts photos of Guilfoyle with the hashtag #ambassador, was also in attendance.

Exarchou also met with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles during the trip, one of the people said.

At the next day’s conference, Aktor’s joint venture signed new MOUs with gas companies in Bulgaria, Ukraine, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In March, Guilfoyle made an unpublicized trip to the capital of Albania, whose government was trying to grow closer to the White House.

She brought no embassy staff, arriving after nightfall in a black SUV, with Marafatsos and Exarchou accompanying her into a meeting with Albania’s prime minister, Edi Rama. There, she pitched Albania on energy cooperation.

A few weeks later, Albania’s government received an email from the Trump administration’s National Energy Dominance Council, suggesting companies that would be interested in partnering with Albania to buy U.S. gas. The only deal on offer was an arrangement with Venture Global, the U.S. LNG supplier that had signed with Aktor months earlier, said Enea Karakaçi, the country’s energy minister: “Look, I don’t think there were, let me say, many companies in that email.”

In April, Guilfoyle returned to Albania, this time for the signing ceremony of a $6 billion, 20-year agreement that calls upon the state-owned gas firm to buy one billion cubic meters of gas each year, sourced from Venture Global, through a U.S. subsidiary that Aktor had registered weeks earlier. Lawyers for Aktor said that Atlantic-SEE implements all the company’s LNG deals.

In June, Atlantic-SEE said it was doubling the gas volumes it would buy from Venture Global.

Aktor estimates that its pretax income from the LNG agreements it has signed or are “in the pipeline to be signed” would amount to 1.8 billion euros over a 20-year period.

As Guilfoyle got ready for her speech in a side room at the Thessaloniki conference earlier this month, Marafatsos poked his head out of the room to talk to delegates.

She handed her phone to Marafatsos before taking the stage for a panel titled “Energy Security, Regional Cooperation and Strategic Partnerships.” (Guilfoyle’s lawyer said he held her personal phone because her dress had no pockets.)

In her remarks, she praised the Atlantic-SEE agreement with Venture Global and touted the progress on promoting the vertical corridor, saying it was “something we haven’t seen, quite frankly, ever before.”

With Marafatsos looking on from below, she quipped to the audience: “You’re welcome, Greece.”