Logo

Sign up for our special edition newsletter to get a daily update on the coronavirus pandemic.

Billionaire Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said he was doing fine after laying off 45,000 employees — claiming he was doing them a “favor.”

“I’m holding up pretty damn good,” the Texas mogul who is said by Forbes to be worth $4.8 billion told Fox News Saturday.

“But I’ve got 45,000 employees out there that we’ve had to furlough which is so tremendously unfortunate,” he said.

Fertitta — who also owns restaurants and casinos — said he learned from previous financial crashes to not hold off cutting jobs.

“You’re doing your people a favor if you get them furloughed first, because you have them first to the unemployment line after the severance that you give them. It’s a trick that I learned many years ago,” he insisted.

Tilman FertittaGetty ImagesTilman FertittaGetty Images

Fertitta, 62, called shuttering most of his company “just unimaginable.”

“When you think of having amusement parks, aquariums, a basketball team, casinos all over — and nothing is open,” he complained.

“It’s like a sci-fi movie you would never believe,” he said.

Comments
anonymous profile image
Powered by RoundtableBuilt on infrastructure designed for real-time media. Learn more at RTB.io.© Roundtable 2026. By using this site you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy