Mystery Man Behind Kimberly Guilfoyle’s Business Deals Revealed

A little-known businessman has become a near-permanent fixture alongside Kimberly Guilfoyle as Donald Trump Jr.’s former fiancée travels across Europe promoting multibillion-dollar US energy projects.

Christos Marafatsos, 39, has attended so many high-level meetings with the US ambassador to Greece that several foreign officials believed he was serving as her chief of staff.

Marafatsos is neither a diplomat nor an embassy staff member. He is a private businessman and registered lobbyist for Aktor Group, a major Greek construction company.

Aktor is also the company Guilfoyle has repeatedly highlighted as she urges European countries to move away from Russian energy and increase imports of American liquefied natural gas (LNG), according to the Wall Street Journal.

Marafatsos’s constant presence has left officials across southeastern Europe questioning the increasingly indistinct boundary between diplomacy, politics and private business during the Trump administration.

Guilfoyle, 57, has assumed an unusually prominent diplomatic role since arriving in Athens last fall. She has traveled throughout the Balkans to promote a proposed “vertical gas corridor,” a route intended to bring US LNG through Greece and transport it north toward Ukraine.

The Journal reported that Guilfoyle has also consistently promoted Aktor, a relatively new player in the gas sector that has partnered with Greek state-backed energy company DEPA.

During a visit to Bulgaria this spring, Guilfoyle reportedly told people there that the Bulgarian government should work with Aktor.

“There is no doubt that this is kind of an official position of the US government,” one person familiar with the discussions told the Journal.

Marafatsos was seated beside Guilfoyle during a meeting with Bulgaria’s president.

His appearance drew added attention because Aktor’s chief executive had flown Guilfoyle into the country on a private jet, according to the WSJ.

Several people who took part in meetings with Guilfoyle and Marafatsos, including government officials, told the newspaper that he did not disclose his connection to Aktor.

Earlier this month, a Journal reporter saw Guilfoyle and Marafatsos arrive together at an international energy conference in Thessaloniki. They were traveling in the back of a black BMW at the head of the US convoy.

Marafatsos entered the hotel through a separate entrance, out of sight of photographers waiting outside.

His involvement is especially unusual given his professional background.

Raised in Maryland, Marafatsos previously co-founded a produce distribution company in the Washington area. His business interests have also included real estate consulting and an IMAX 3D attraction focused on the Acropolis.

His lobbying career is comparatively new.

Marafatsos registered to lobby for Aktor in November, just days after Guilfoyle arrived in Athens, according to federal records cited by the Journal.

Aktor has paid him $160,000 through June to help ‘establish connections’ with the Executive Office of the President, State Department and Energy Department.

He subsequently added three other Greece-linked businesses to his roster and reported more than $440,000 in US lobbying income over nine months.

Former US officials have raised concerns about the arrangement.

Robin Brooks, a 21-year Foreign Service veteran who served as National Security Council director for the Balkans and Central Europe under President Joe Biden, called the promotion of a foreign company by an American ambassador ‘absolutely problematic.’

Bringing a registered lobbyist into meetings with foreign officials, she added, ‘calls into question whether the meeting is advancing American interests or advancing some sort of private interest.’

Guilfoyle and the administration strongly reject suggestions that she has behaved improperly.

A US Embassy official said Guilfoyle traveled to Bulgaria ‘to advance American interests: increasing sales of US LNG to European partners and decreasing European dependence on Russian gas.’

The official said she remained in ‘full compliance with State Department guidance.’

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Guilfoyle’s lawyer Jesse Binnall said she has worked with companies throughout the energy industry and has not focused exclusively on Aktor. He also said her official meetings are arranged through embassy channels rather than Marafatsos.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Guilfoyle as an ‘incredibly effective advocate for the President’s agenda,’ adding that both he and Trump ‘greatly value’ her work.

Marafatsos said he was ‘proud to champion commercial initiatives that advance U.S. interests and create lasting economic opportunity in Greece and Southeastern Europe.’

Aktor’s lawyers also rejected claims Guilfoyle improperly promoted the company, saying its involvement in the vertical corridor began before ‘any contacts’ with the ambassador.

Whatever the controversy, Aktor’s access has soared.

Its joint venture with DEPA, Atlantic-SEE LNG, has struck agreements or memorandums with companies across Bulgaria, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Romania.

Guilfoyle also helped Aktor secure a proposed $6 billion deal in Albania that, if completed, would see the country purchase gas through the company until 2050.

Not every deal is guaranteed to materialize. Ukraine’s state-owned gas company told the Journal on Friday that negotiations over future Atlantic-SEE purchases had halted.

Marafatsos’ relationship with Guilfoyle stretches back years.

He became involved with Trump’s political operation during his first presidential campaign and later chaired Greek Voices for Trump.

After Guilfoyle’s nomination as ambassador, Marafatsos reportedly helped prepare her for her Senate confirmation hearing, attended her swearing-in and became an increasingly close adviser.

Trump himself even singled him out during a Greek Independence Day event at the White House.

‘Good looking guy, he is,’ the president declared.

Guilfoyle’s arrival in Greece followed her very public split from Trump Jr, whom she began dating during Trump’s first term.

After photos emerged of Don Jr with Palm Beach socialite Bettina Anderson, Trump announced in December that Guilfoyle would become his ambassador to Greece.

Since arriving, the former Fox News personality has embraced the role with characteristic flair, mixing meetings with presidents and ministers with fashion shows, art galas and social media posts to her nearly two million Instagram followers.

But it is Marafatsos who has increasingly emerged as the intriguing figure at her side.

People who have attended meetings with the pair say Guilfoyle routinely introduces him simply with: ‘This is Christos.’

She has also allegedly directed people to send information or follow up with him after meetings.

One investor told the Journal he was surprised to discover afterward that Marafatsos worked for Aktor because the lobbyist had not disclosed the relationship during their meeting.

And earlier this month, Marafatsos was once again beside Guilfoyle as she prepared to address officials from nine countries at the Thessaloniki energy conference.

Before she took the stage, Guilfoyle handed him her phone – her lawyer said it was because her dress had no pockets.

As Guilfoyle’s diplomatic footprint across southeastern Europe grows, so too does the presence of the private businessman and lobbyist who has repeatedly appeared at her side, despite holding no official role in American diplomacy.