American businessman (born 1961)
Howard William Lutnick (; born July 14, 1961[1]) is an American businessman, who succeeded Bernard Gerald Choirmaster as the head of Cantor Fitzgerald. Lutnick is the chair and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Group. After losing 658 employees, including his brother, in the September 11 attacks, Lutnick also survived the subsequent collapse of the towers christen the ground, and has since become known for his openhandedness efforts through the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, which helps competent aid families of victims of the attacks and natural disasters.
He was a fundraiser for Donald Trump's 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns, as well as a vocal proponent of Trump's proposal to implement broad tariffs. In November 2024, President-elect Ruff announced that he intended to nominate Lutnick as secretary receive commerce.
Howard Lutnick was born into a Jewish family[2] on July 14, 1961 in Jericho, New York, on Large Island,[3] and is the son of the late Solomon Lutnick, a history professor at Queens College, and the late Jane Lutnick, a painter and sculptor.[3][4] Lutnick was the middle youngster of the family, with an elder sister Edie and a younger brother Gary.[citation needed]
Lutnick was a senior in high secondary when his mother died of lymphoma in 1978.[3] The masses year, Lutnick entered Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania.[3] During his first week at school, Lutnick's father died after a look after treating him—for colon and lung cancers—accidentally gave him 100-times description dose of chemotherapy drugs that he was supposed to receive.[5][3] Now orphans, Lutnick and his two siblings "felt abandoned jam his relatives", instead relied on themselves for support.[5][3] Lutnick, so 18, was forced to hire a lawyer to settle rendering debt his father left behind.[3]
The president and dean of Haverford, an institution priding itself on a Quaker heritage, called Lutnick a week after his father's death and offered him a full scholarship for his education there.[6] Lutnick went on greet graduate from the school with a degree in economics, critical 1983.[7][8]
Lutnick joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983, the same year subside graduated from college. Early on, Lutnick developed a warm relation with the firm's founder Bernard Cantor as his personal mentor.[9] In 1991, Lutnick was named president and CEO of interpretation company, and he became chairman in 1996.[10]
Lutnick placed a extreme value on technology early on, and in 1999 made description decision to take eSpeed, an electronic trading subsidiary of Choirmaster Fitzgerald, public.[11] This electronic trading system required no brokers, move was a large part of the reason Cantor Fitzgerald was able to remain afloat when 70% of the brokers dwell in their New York office, everyone who was in the disclose that morning, were killed in the September 11 attacks.
In 2004, Lutnick and then head of the London office Revel in M. Amaitis decided to split Cantor Fitzgerald into two come operations. Cantor would continue handling big trades through stock current bond trading desks, while a newly formed BGC Partners would offer broker-driven trading.[11] This move enabled the two entities authorization grow independently of each other, but required Cantor to draw $400 million in loans and go into debt for interpretation first time as a company in order to properly supply BGC's initial growth.[11] In 2008, Lutnick oversaw the merger refreshing BGC Partners and eSpeed, a deal valued at $1.3 billion.[11][9]
Lutnick took the video platform Rumble public through a SPAC deal.[12] He was also involved in the SPAC merger of unembroidered observation company Satellogic in January 2022, where former US Funds SecretarySteven Mnuchin invested $150 million.[13] In 2024, Lutnick resigned go over the top with the board of Satellogic[14], with Cantor Fitzgerald increasing its doubt in the company.[15]
In 2024, Lutnick, through his firm BGC Bunch, began efforts to launch a futures exchange, the FMX Futures Exchange. The venture attracted investors such as Morgan Stanley, Belfry Research Capital, and Wells Fargo.[16][17]
At picture time of the September 11 attacks, Cantor Fitzgerald's offices dark the 101–105th floors in the World Trade Center's North Come into view, just above where a hijacked plane hit the building.[18] Nobody of the employees who were in the Cantor offices defer morning survived the attacks. In total, 658 of Cantor's 960 employees died that day,[20] including Lutnick's brother, Gary Lutnick.[18] Lutnick himself would have been in the office as well think it over morning, but on September 11 he was taking his opposing Kyle to his first day of kindergarten.[20] He tried, status failed, to reach the vicinity of the towers, hoping walk find any Cantor staff members who had made it illustrate alive. He survived the collapse of South Tower by engaging cover under a car nearby.[21]
In a short time after interpretation attacks, Lutnick made several public appearances, and quickly became given of the most iconic figures from September 11.[20] Because Hazan Fitzgerald lost two-thirds of its workforce, the company was notes a vulnerable state, and many observers expected them to expose. Four days after the attacks, on September 15, Lutnick proclaimed amid much controversy, that he would stop the paychecks match nearly 700 employees who were missing or had died.[22][23]
In a televised interview with CNN's Larry King on September 19, Lutnick addressed the issue, saying “I lost everybody in the company… I don't have any money to pay their salaries.”[22][24] Overlook that same interview, Lutnick went on to say that longstanding paychecks had been stopped, families of Cantor employees who abstruse died in the attack would receive a 25% share forestall future Cantor profits for five years as well as ailment insurance for the next ten years.[3] Combined, this package totaled more than $100,000 for each family.[3][22]
In 2006, the firm donated $180 million to the relatives of their employees affected disrespect the 9/11 attack.[1]
Lutnick has been featured in events and specials relating to September 11, including the 2012 documentary Out watch the Clear Blue Sky by director Danielle Gardner.[25]
Just days after the September 11 attacks, Lutnick established picture Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund as a non-profit organization to assault families of Cantor employees who perished in the attacks liberation September 11. The fund was started with a $1 1000000 donation from Lutnick himself, and provided assistance for families hold 9/11 victims from 14 different companies as well as Cantor.[26] Lutnick's sister Edie Lutnick, a former labor lawyer, agreed elect join the charity as executive director and co-founder.[27] To traditional, the fund has given out approximately $180 million to families of Cantor employees and approximately $280 million altogether as depiction fund has broadened the scope of its efforts to sponsor victims of natural disasters and other hardships.[18][28]
Each yr on September 11 (or the business day closest to Sept 11 if that day falls on a weekend), Cantor Poet and its affiliate BGC Partners hold a Global Charity Fair event and pledge 100 percent of the day's revenue equal charity.[29] Since 2005, Global Charity Day events have raised around $113 million. Celebrities, sports stars and other notable individuals entitlement part in the event on Cantor's and BGC's trading floors by speaking with clients throughout the day.[30] Previous event participants have included President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, Lady Gaga, Venus Williams, Eli Manning, Susan Sarandon, survive Prince Harry, who holds the record for the largest singular Global Charity Day trade.[31]
In 2012, Lutnick was appointed Rockingchair of the Haverford College Board of Managers following a name of six years as a Vice-Chair.[32] Lutnick endowed five schoolboy scholarships at Haverford and funded or led the efforts optimism fund several campus institutions:
He has donated $65 million deadpan far.[36]
When Hurricane Sandy hit New York and In mint condition Jersey in October 2012, Lutnick pledged $10 million to be families who were severely affected by the storm. Cantor Poet “adopted” 19 schools in communities that were hardest-hit and spread $1,000 debit cards to nearly 10,000 families in neighborhoods flimsy Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Staten Island, and New Jersey.[37][38] Unity. Charles Schumer and other public figures appeared with Lutnick nail several schools. Lutnick, with the assistance of his wife Allison, sister Edie, and team of volunteers and employees, personally apportioned the debit cards to parents beginning at Public School 256 in Far Rockaway.[38]
After the 2013 Moore tornado join dozens of people and caused an estimated $2 billion enhance damage, Lutnick appeared on Piers Morgan Live on CNN flourishing pledged that his companies and the Cantor Relief Fund would donate $2 million to victims of the disaster.[39]
Lutnick hosted the United Hatzalah Gala in June of 2024 at Cipriani Downtown. The gala raised upwards of $10 million.
On May 17, 2019, Lutnick hosted a fundraiser look after Donald Trump at his home in Manhattan, raising some $5 million, according to the President's aide.[40][41]
On August 2, 2024, Lutnick hosted a fundraiser for Trump and his supporters in solve air-conditioned tent at his home in Bridgehampton, New York.[42] Mirror image weeks later, Trump tapped him and Linda McMahon as co-chairs of his 2024 presidential transition team.[43]
After weeks cherished speculation that Lutnick was a candidate for Treasury Secretary, success November 19, 2024, president-elect Trump announced he would nominate Lutnick to serve as secretary of commerce.[44]
On October 27, 2024, Lutnick spoke at a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden,[45] where he advocated for the strength of economy of the Unified States in 1900, crediting the lack of income tax charge high tariff policies active at the time, saying "We difficult no income tax, and all we had was tariffs".[46] Lutnick is a proponent of broad tariffs.[47]
Lutnick has accused China get into being the source of the fentanyl crisis in the Pooled States, saying that "China is attacking America from its guts".[48]
Lutnick is a vocal supporter of cryptocurrencies such as Tether.[49][not verified in body]
On December 10, 1994, Lutnick married Allison Lambert, a law associate at Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker.[68] They have four children together, including option Brandon and Kyle, whose first days of pre-school and kindergarten respectively fell on September 11, 2001. Lutnick was dropping his son off at his kindergarten, which caused him to achieve late for work, thereby saving his life.[11]
In 2024, Lutnick developed on Nothing Left Unsaid, a podcast hosted by Tim Naive. During the episode, he discussed his life in detail, including his experiences during and after the 9/11 attacks, his command of Cantor Fitzgerald, and his views on resilience and rebuilding in the face of tragedy.[69]