David Cornstein

David Bert Cornstein Cornstein was nominated to the ambassadorship by President Donald Trump. As Ambassador, Cornstein vocally defended the government of Viktor Orbán. He subsequently earned an M.B.A. from New York University (NYU). Cornstein then served as a cook in the Army Reserve.

He was appointed to the New York Off-Track Betting Commission in 1994 and eventually became its chairman. He promoted ideas like televising races live and an 800 telephone number for gamblers to wager. The State argued:Using the name Triple Gold Benefits, Telehublink Inc.'s telemarketers promised thousands of consumers across the nation that, for an advance fee of over $200, the consumers would receive a low rate, general purpose Visa or MasterCard credit card. In fact, consumers who paid the advance fee did not receive a credit card. Instead, Telehublink sent them a "discount benefits package" consisting of generally worthless items such as an application for a credit card. In January 2003, the Third Department of the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, upheld a 2001 ruling that "had halted the scam and awarded restitution to victimized consumers".

On February 13, 2018, United States President Donald Trump nominated Cornstein to be U.S. Ambassador to Hungary. Cornstein was a long-time friend of Trump's. He was a member of Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach.

As Ambassador, Cornstein vocally defended the government of Viktor Orbán. Cornstein told Hungarian media that he had seen no evidence of this authoritarian shift, but according to reports of "mounting evidence" the government has infringed on human rights in Hungary.

In September 2018, Cornstein claimed that he had reached an agreement with Orbán that Central European University, a notable American university in Budapest, would be allowed to stay in Hungary. Cornstein stated that Soros had a crazed hatred of Orbán, which led CEU not to make concessions to stay in Hungary.

On September 15, 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Budapest announced that Cornstein informed President Trump and Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó that he would end his service as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary effective November 1, 2020. In doing so, the ambassador said that “it has been an honor and a privilege to serve the country that I love in a country that I have come to cherish".

Personal life and death Cornstein was married to his wife, Sheila, for over 50 years. He was active in Jewish organizations and the Jewish community. Cornstein has one son.

Cornstein died in Palm Beach, Florida on March 26, 2026, at the age of 87.