Paolo Zampolli

Paolo Zampolli
United States Special Representative for Global Partnerships
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 11, 2025
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byDorothy McAuliffe
Personal details
Born (1970-03-05) 5 March 1970
Milan, Italy
Children1

Paolo Zampolli (born March 5 1970)[1] is an Italian-American businessman. After immigrating to the United States and founding a modeling agency, Zampolli became a close friend of Donald Trump, introducing him to his future wife, Melania Knauss, in 1998. After moving out of modeling, Zampolli founded a real estate firm and held roles representing Dominica at the UN. In 2020, Trump named Zampolli to the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees. In the second Trump administration, Zampolli was named special envoy for global partnerships, in which capacity he has represented the United States in varied settings.[2][3]

Early life and business career

Paolo Zampolli was born in Milan to a wealthy family. He claims to be distantly related to Pope Paul VI, and spent part of his youth at the castle of Azzate, which was owned by his family.[4] His father, the owner of the toy company Harbert, died in a ski accident when Zampolli was 18. Zampolli dropped out of college to take over Harbert, but soon sold the company to a group controlled by Silvio Berlusconi in order to work in fashion and modeling. Elite Model Management founder John Casablancas encouraged Zampolli to move to the United States after attending a 1994 fashion show he organized in Ibiza.[5]

In New York, Zampolli rented an apartment in Union Square, and founded ID Model Management. He soon befriended Donald Trump. On a scouting trip to Milan in 1995, Zampolli met the model Melania Knauss. In 1996, Zampolli sponsored her immigration to the United States via a H-1B visa. Knauss moved into Zampolli's building at Zeckendorf Towers, and Zampolli introduced her to Trump at a September 1998 party.[6][7]

Zampolli attended the Trumps' wedding, and became acquainted with Bill Clinton and his advisors, including Ron Burkle. Zampolli's relationship with Burkle deteriorated after Zampolli arranged a failed meeting between Burkle and a columnist from the New York Post's Page Six, which had been covering Burkle critically. Zampolli and his agency appeared on Page Six "close to 54 times" in one year.

In 2004, Zampolli made an unsuccessful bid to buy Elite Model Management at public auction, and ID Model's top model left the agency. Donald Trump invited him to join the Trump Organization , where he became Director of International Development in December 2004. In this role, he sold apartments at Trump Park Avenue.[8][9][10]

Zampolli soon left the Trump Organization to found his own real estate agency, Paramount Group, which used fashion models (mostly from his former agency, ID) as brokers to sell properties in Manhattan.[11][12]

In 2008, Zampolli hosted an event at the UN Headquarters to raise money for the International Renewable Energy Organization.[13] In an interview with Diario de Ibiza a year later, Zampelli claimed that he was working as an advisor to the United Nations on climate change and was involved in negotiations surrounding the Kyoto Protocol, on which he was an "expert".[14] In a 2010 article, Zampolli described himself as "United Nations Associations Brazil Ambassador at Large".[15]

In 2011, he was named Minister-Counsellor to the Permanent Mission of the Commonwealth of Dominica at the United Nations.[16] In October 2013, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit appointed Zampolli as United Nations Ambassador and Ambassador for Oceans and Seas for the Commonwealth of Dominica.[17] In June 2014, Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, appointed Zampolli's wife Amanda Ungaro as United Nations Ambassador in charge of Post-15th Agendas and responsible of the second committee with United Nations Ambassador Ranking.[10][18] Ungaro has worked under the 69th United Nations Vice President of the UN General Assembly for the Blue Economy.[19] Zampolli has publicly used the title of "Ambassador" since his 2011 appointment.[20]

Trump administration positions

In December 2020, Trump appointed Zampolli to the board of trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.[21] Zampolli remained on the board through the Biden Administration, and advocated for the addition of amenities to the Center, such as a marina, a Cipriani restaurant, and a bridge connecting the Center to Theodore Roosevelt Island. Zampolli also called for the establishment of overseas franchises of the Center. In a February 2025 interview with Politico, Zampolli praised David Rubenstein, who Trump removed from the Center's chairmanship, and said that the Center "is not going anywhere".[22]

In January 2021, Zampolli was appointed to the President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition.[23]

In February 2025, Zampolli represented himself as "Special Envoy to Italy", and was referred to as such by Matteo Salvini. However, the appointment was not official.[5] Zampolli was instead named Trump's special envoy for global partnerships in March. In this capacity, he has controversially advocated for Russia's reentry into global sports competition, and been involved in mineral deal negotiation with Uzbekistan.[3][24][25] In January 2026, he joined the American delegation to the World Economic Forum in Davos, where he brought a miniature of Arturo Di Modica's Charging Bull to the building hosting the delegation.[26]

Personal life

Zampolli moved to New York with Edit Molnar, a Hungarian model, and lived with her until at least 1996.[6] In 2005, he met Amanda Ungaro, a model from Londrina, Brazil 15 years his junior. Ungaro was 19 when they met. According to Folha de S.Paulo, they later married, and had a son, Giovanni. The couple attended the first Trump Inauguration, where they sat at Melania's table during dinner.[27] The couple split in 2018, with Zampolli claiming that a marriage never occurred.[28] Ungaro was arrested in Florida in 2025 for unlicensed cosmetic procedures.[29]

On January 21, 2025, Zampolli appeared at Donald Trump's Starlight inaugural ball with model Maria Borges.[30]

References

  1. ^ "U.S., Public Records Index, 1950-1993, Volume 2". Ancestry.com. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  2. ^ "Think Trump's Kennedy Center Will Be All Kid Rock and MMA? You Haven't Met Paolo Zampolli". POLITICO. February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  3. ^ a b Panja, Tariq (February 21, 2026). "Trump Official Backs Russia's Return to Global Sports". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  4. ^ Bertolini, Roberta (February 28, 2025). "Dal Castello di Azzate alla Casa Bianca: il misterioso incarico di Paolo Zampolli al fianco di Trump". VareseNews (in Italian). Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Questo "inviato speciale" degli Stati Uniti in Italia è un caso strano". Il Post (in Italian). February 27, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  6. ^ a b Horowitz, Jason (August 31, 2016). "When Donald Met Melania, Paolo Was There". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  7. ^ "Model Mogul Paolo Zampolli Sells Gramercy Penthouse for $3.1 M" (Press release). Newswire.com. July 20, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  8. ^ Calderone, Michael (April 25, 2005). "Ciao, Paolo! Donald's Matchmaker Goes From Pin-Ups to Penthouses". Observer. Retrieved December 21, 2025.
  9. ^ "observer.com Ciao, Paolo! Donald's Matchmaker Goes From Pin-Ups to Penthouses; The New York Observer". observer.com. April 25, 2005. Retrieved August 29, 2009.
  10. ^ a b "When Donald Met Melania, Paolo Was There". September 1, 2016 – via The New York Times.
  11. ^ "theaustralian.com.au Catwalk models stimulate sales in upscale New York; The Australian". theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  12. ^ Palmeri, Tara, Politico Playbook: Models and bottles: When Melania’s pal Paolo blew through D.C., Politico, October 15, 2021
  13. ^ "UN Hosts Environmental Smoke and Mirrors, Naomi Campbell, Indigenous Outrage". Inner City Press. May 18, 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
  14. ^ "Paolo Zampolli, empresario y colaborador de Naciones Unidas: «El camino natural para prosperar en los negocios es seguir la estela del poder | Diario de Ibiza". diariodeibiza.es. August 29, 2009. Retrieved August 29, 2009.
  15. ^ Balefsky, Sherri (October 11, 2010). "Zampolli's World: Exemplar-Zero Initiative Ceremony". Haute Living. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  16. ^ "Permanent Missions to the United Nations" (PDF). UN.org. August 1, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 17, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2021.
  17. ^ "Permanent Missions to the United Nations" (PDF). stanford.edu. Retrieved December 23, 2020.
  18. ^ "United Nations Bluebook August 2018" (PDF). United Nations. May 18, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  19. ^ "zampolli.com about; zampolli.com". zampolli.com. Retrieved January 2, 2017.
  20. ^ "Think Trump's Kennedy Center Will Be All Kid Rock and MMA? You Haven't Met Paolo Zampolli". POLITICO. February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  21. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Appoint Individuals to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved December 23, 2020 – via National Archives.
  22. ^ "Think Trump's Kennedy Center Will Be All Kid Rock and MMA? You Haven't Met Paolo Zampolli". POLITICO. February 21, 2025. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  23. ^ "U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | Health.gov". ODPHD. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
  24. ^ "Trump special rep having an extended stay in Tashkent | Eurasianet". eurasianet.org. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  25. ^ Romania, U. S. Embassy (September 5, 2025). "U.S. Special Envoy for Global Partnerships, Ambassador Paolo Zampolli Visited Romania to Strengthen Cultural and Sports Diplomacy". U.S. Embassy Romania. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  26. ^ "Inside USA House: The converted church that left a MAGA mark on Davos". The Washington Post. January 23, 2026. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  27. ^ "Folha de S.Paulo - Internacional - En - World - Businessman who Introduced Trump to Melania Wants to Bring Him Closer to Brazil - 30/01/2017". www1.folha.uol.com.br. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  28. ^ "Italian mogul's split from Brazilian model gets messy". June 4, 2018. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
  29. ^ "Man and woman arrested for alleged unlicensed cosmetic procedures in Aventura". NBC 6 South Florida. June 18, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
  30. ^ "Attenti a quei tre". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). January 22, 2025. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
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