Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle was caught on a Davos recording saying wealthy Greek businessmen paid for her travel, remarks now feeding an ethics review and Democratic calls to push her out.
At the January World Economic Forum in Switzerland, America’s ambassador to Greece pressed for a seat at a dinner held for Eric Trump and talked openly about private help from Greek business heavyweights, according to a recording reviewed by the Wall Street Journal and detailed in Daily Caller reporting.
The tape and related claims have put Guilfoyle under fresh scrutiny in Athens and Washington. The State Department inspector general is examining whether she took gifts or favors from private businessmen, and administration officials are weighing whether to remove her before the 2026 midterms.
The Journal’s account ties Guilfoyle’s trip to the Swiss gathering to Alexandros Exarchou, chief executive of construction firm Aktor Group. She flew to the forum on his private jet, the paper reported.
She also planned to fly to Paris on a jet belonging to shipping magnate Nikolas Tsakos. Tsakos covered her stay at the Four Seasons George V, per the same reporting. Guilfoyle posted 20 photos from that stay to an Instagram audience of two million followers.
At Davos, Greek House Davos initially kept her off the guest list for the Eric Trump dinner. She still secured a last-minute seat. In the recording, she turned to an American businessman already on the list and made a hard sell for his help.
Guilfoyle told him:
“You know, I can deliver the world to you. Which you deserve,”
She added, in language cleaned for print:
“I’m going to make you a lot of f, ing money,”
Irene Vantaraki, chairwoman of Greek House Davos, later described Guilfoyle as “gracious and discreet” and said she left early.
The Journal also reported earlier messages in which Guilfoyle asked a Trump donor to wire $100,000 to an American Express account and offered help with tax and legal issues. Her attorney, Jesse Binnall, disputed the authenticity of those separate messages.
Prior Journal reporting linked Guilfoyle to promotion of American natural gas deals through Aktor, the same firm led by the executive whose jet she used for the forum trip. That overlap is part of what ethics watchers are now sorting through.
A U.S. Embassy in Athens spokesman said Guilfoyle’s career rests on “deep and abiding values” and that she has met federal ethics and gift-reporting requirements.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to discuss the allegations during a visit to Athens and instead praised his embassy’s performance, KTVU reported.
Democrats did not hold back. New York Rep. Gregory Meeks requested a bribery and corruption investigation. New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who had backed Guilfoyle’s confirmation, called her unfit to serve, according to Raw Story.
No inspector general findings have been released. No charges have been announced. The public record so far is a recording, travel arrangements attributed to named Greek businessmen, disputed financial messages, an open ethics review, and a growing political argument over whether she stays in post.
Ambassadors work for the United States, not for private hosts with jets and hotel suites. Gift rules, disclosure rules, and bright lines with foreign business interests exist because taxpayers expect public office to stay public.
Guilfoyle’s team says she followed the rules. The embassy says the same. The inspector general is testing that claim against the travel, the tape, and the rest of the file.
Foreign postings are not a runway for free luxury. If the review finds the lines held, she deserves clearance. If they did not, she should not keep the job.
