Howard Lutnick

Howard Lutnick
Lutnick in 2024
United States Secretary of Commerce
Nominee
Assuming office
TBD
PresidentDonald Trump (elect)
SucceedingGina Raimondo
Personal details
Born
Howard William Lutnick

(1961-07-14) July 14, 1961 (age 63)
Jericho, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s)
Allison Lambert
​
(m. 1994)​
Children4
EducationHaverford College (BA)

Howard William Lutnick (born July 14, 1961) is an American billionaire businessman, philanthropist and politician.[1] He has been Chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald since 1996. He is also the chairman of BGC Group since 2004. Lutnick was survived the September 11 attacks when he was at the World Trade Center. Lutnick owns 60% of Cantor Fitzgerald, with a net worth of "at least $1.5 billion".[2]

In November 2024, President-elect Donald Trump picked Lutnick to be his secretary of commerce for his second administration.[3]

Early life

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Lutnick was born into a Jewish family[4] on July 14, 1961 in Jericho on Long Island.[5][6] He studied at Haverford College in Pennsylvania.[7] His parents died of cancer before Lutnick started college.[7][5] The president and dean of Haverford called Lutnick a week after his father's death and offered him a full scholarship for his education there.[8] Lutnick graduated from the school with a degree in economics in 1983.[9]

Business career

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Lutnick joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983.[10] In 1991, Lutnick was named president and CEO of the company, and he became chairman in 1996.[9] In 2004, Lutnick and then head of the London office Lee M. Amaitis decided to split Cantor Fitzgerald into two separate operations. Cantor would become head of the newly formed BGC Partners.[11] In 2008, Lutnick helped merge BGC Partners and eSpeed, a deal worth $1.3 billion.[11][10]

September 11 attacks

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At the time of the September 11 attacks, Cantor Fitzgerald's offices was located in the 101–105th floors in the World Trade Center's North Tower, just above where a hijacked plane hit the building.[12][13] None of the employees who were in the Cantor offices that morning survived the attacks. In total, 658 of Cantor's 960 employees died that day,[14] including Lutnick's brother, Gary Lutnick.[12] Lutnick himself would have been in the office that morning, but on September 11 he was taking his son Kyle to his first day of kindergarten.[13][14] He survived the collapse of South Tower by taking cover under a car nearby.[15]

Lutnick in 2007

After the attacks, Lutnick made several public appearances, and quickly became a well known survivor of the September 11 attacks.[14] Four days after the attacks, on September 15, Lutnick announced that he would stop the paychecks of nearly 700 employees who were missing or had died.[16][17] In 2006, the firm donated $180 million to the relatives of their employees affected by the 9/11 attack.[1]

Philanthropy

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Just days after the September 11 attacks, Lutnick created the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund as a non-profit organization to help the families of Cantor employees who died in the attacks of September 11. The fund was started with a $1 million donation from Lutnick himself.[18] Lutnick's sister Edie Lutnick, a former labor lawyer, agreed to join the charity as executive director and co-founder.[19] The fund has given out $180 million to families of Cantor employees and $280 million altogether as the fund has donated to efforts to help victims of natural disasters.[20]

Each year on September 11, or the business day closest to September 11, Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Partners hold a Global Charity Day event and pledge 100 percent of the day's revenue to charity.[21] Since 2005, Global Charity Day events have raised about $113 million.[22]

Support of Donald Trump

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On May 17, 2019, Lutnick hosted a fundraiser for Donald Trump at his home in Manhattan, raising some $5 million.[23][24] On August 2, 2024, Lutnick hosted a fundraiser for Trump and his supporters at his home in Bridgehampton, New York.[25] Two weeks later, Trump hired him and Linda McMahon as co-chairs of his 2024 presidential transition team.[26]

U.S. Secretary of Commerce

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On November 19, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump picked Lutnick to be his secretary of commerce for his second administration.[3]

Personal life

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On December 10, 1994, Lutnick married Allison Lambert, a law associate.[27] They have four children together.[11]

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Solomont, E. B. (April 21, 2015). "Howard Lutnick". TheRealDeal.com. New York, NY: Korangy Publishing. Archived from the original (interview with independent biographical opening) on 2020-07-27. Retrieved 2024-11-17.
  2. ↑ Metcalf, Tom; Basak, Sonali (September 20, 2018). "Howard Lutnick, Now a Billionaire, Bets Own Fortune on Bold Growth Plan". Bloomberg LP. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Trump expected to name Howard Lutnick, Wall Street CEO, as commerce secretary".
  4. ↑ Leving, Jessica (June 9, 2016). "Lion Luncheon 2017: 'We are the First Responders'" (report on luncheon address with substantial quoting). Jewish Chicago—The JUF Magazine. Retrieved November 17, 2024. 'We grew up with the Jewish understanding that you helped others,' said Lutnick, who credited her late parents with instilling in her the Jewish values of charity and repairing the world
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Gordon, Meryl (December 10, 2001). "Howard Lutnick's Second Life". New York Magazine. New York, NY: Vox Media, LLC. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  6. ↑ Mishkin, Budd (September 12, 2006). "One On 1: Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund Director Edie Lutnick". NY1 News. Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC. Archived from the original on June 18, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Knox, Noelle (November 12, 2001). "Cantor battles back from tragedy". USA Today. Gannett Co. Inc.
  8. ↑ Wessel, David. "Reviews". Haverford Alumni Magazine. Haverford College. Archived from the original on July 12, 2013. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lutnick, Howard W. & CF Staff (17 November 2024). "Howard W. Lutnick / Chairman and Chief Executive Officer" (employee autobiography). Cantor.com. New York, NY: Cantor Fitzgerald (CF), L.P. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Dahle, Stephanie (December 1, 2008). "Briefing Book: Howard Lutnick". Forbes.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Craig, Suzanne (September 3, 2011). "The Survivor Who Saw the Future for Cantor Fitzgerald". New York Times Dealbook. The New York Times Company.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Cantor rebuilds after 9/11 losses". BBC News. BBC. September 4, 2006.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 La Roche, Julia (September 11, 2011). "The Amazing And Heartbreaking Story Of The CEO Who Lived And Rebuilt His Firm After 9/11: Howard Lutnick". Business Insider. Business Insider, Inc.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 "Iconic figures from Sept. 11: Where are they now?". NBC News. NBCNews.com. 2010. Archived from the original on June 30, 2013.
  15. ↑ Callum Jones (2021-09-10). "Former Cantor Fitzgerald chairman Howard Lutnick recalls the day 20 years ago that changed him and the firm". The Times. Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  16. ↑ Bandur, Heather (September 15, 2002). "Being 'ruthless' helped CEO rebuild after tragedy". Houston Chronicle. Hearst Communications, Inc.
  17. ↑ Urbina, Ian (2014-11-23). "The Secret Life of Passwords". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 2018-09-22.
  18. ↑ "A Lasting Legacy". Leaders Magazine. 36 (2). LEADERS MAGAZINE, INC: 48. April–June 2013.
  19. ↑ Lloyd, Janice (August 23, 2011). "Cantor Fitzgerald family creates fund to help 9/11 families". USA TODAY. Gannett Co. Inc.
  20. ↑ Goldberg, Eleanor (January 15, 2013). "Cantor Fitzgerald Slacks on 9/11 Pledge, But Promises $10 Million to Sandy Relief". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 10, 2016.
  21. ↑ Evers, Lisa (September 11, 2012). "9/11 anniversary: Cantor Fitzgerald charity day". MYFOXNY.com. Fox Television Stations, Inc.
  22. ↑ Lutnick, Howard. "Charity Day". Gotham. NICHE MEDIA LLC.
  23. ↑ Sommerfeldt, Chris (May 16, 2019). "President Trump to attend swanky fundraiser in Manhattan hosted by billionaire Wall Street bigwig". nydailynews.com. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  24. ↑ "Trump Raises $5 Million at Home of Cantor Fitzgerald's Lutnick". May 17, 2019. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
  25. ↑ Haberman, Maggie; Swan, Jonathan (2024-08-10). "Inside the Worst Three Weeks of Donald Trump's 2024 Campaign". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-10.
  26. ↑ Slattery, Gram (August 16, 2024). "Trump taps major donors to lead transition effort should he return to power". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 17, 2024. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
  27. ↑ "WEDDINGS; Howard Lutnick, Allison Lambert". The New York Times. December 11, 1994.

Other websites

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