Jets owner Woody Johnson has emerged as a leading contender for a key ambassadorship under Donald Trump — sources exclusively tell Page Six — with other Trump backers lining up for prestigious diplomatic posts, including former MTA chief Peter Kalikow, Duke Buchan III, Georgette Mosbacher and Wilbur Ross Jr.’s wife, Hilary Geary Ross.
Johnson is under consideration for ambassador to the UK, multiple sources say. He was vice chairman of the Trump Victory Committee and hosted pricey fundraisers in the Hamptons for donors including treasury secretary pick Steven Mnuchin, Carl Icahn and Anthony Scaramucci. He’s also on Trump’s presidential inaugural committee. (Under President Obama, it’s a role Anna Wintour reportedly coveted but did not land.)
London has been lucky for the Jets, at least. Johnson’s team beat the Dolphins there last year as the NFL expanded its presence in the UK capital. The league’s scheduled four games for next season in London, reportedly testing the waters for a local team to launch in 2022.
Meanwhile, we hear real estate mogul Kalikow could be in the running for an ambassadorship to Italy. In 2008, he received the Commendatore in the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, one of the country’s highest honors. His bio as a chairman of the board for New York’s Grand Central Partnership says he’s “recognized as a cultural ambassador for his economic and philanthropic efforts as they relate to Italy.”
Hedge funder Buchan is being considered for a diplomatic post in Spain. The Hunter Global Investors CEO has an undergraduate degree in economics and Spanish as well as a Harvard MBA. Like Johnson, Buchan was initially a backer of Jeb Bush, then Trump.
Insiders say Mosbacher could be in line for a post in Ireland or Belgium. And Ross, wife of Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, could be up for an official role too. A source said she could be considered as a US rep to the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church. A rep for Trump did not get back to us.