Howard William Lutnick is an American businessman and government official who has served as the 41st United States Secretary of Commerce since 2025.
Born on 14 July 1961 on Long Island, New York, and raised in Jericho, he is the middle child of Solomon Lutnick, a history professor at Queens College, and Jane Lutnick, a painter and sculptor who taught at Long Island University.
He graduated from Haverford College in 1983 with a degree in economics.
Lutnick joined the Wall Street firm Cantor Fitzgerald shortly after college and rose to lead it for decades, becoming one of the most prominent figures in financial services.
Siblings
Howard Lutnick has two siblings. His older sister is Edith, often known as Edie.
His younger brother was Gary Lutnick, who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald and died in the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.
The three siblings grew up together in a Jewish family in Jericho, New York.
Both of their parents died within a short period when Howard was a teenager – his mother of lymphoma and his father from complications related to cancer treatment – leaving the siblings to rely heavily on one another.
The loss of Gary on September 11 was a profound personal and professional tragedy that deeply affected Lutnick and the firm he led.
Career
Lutnick joined Cantor Fitzgerald in 1983 as a young graduate and quickly became a protégé of the firm’s founder, B. Gerald “Bernie” Cantor.
By 1991, at the age of 29, he had become president and chief executive officer.
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He later assumed the role of chairman and steered the firm through significant technological and structural changes, including the development of electronic trading platforms.
On September 11, 2001, Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 of its approximately 960 New York employees, including Lutnick’s brother Gary.
Lutnick, who had been delayed that morning taking his son to kindergarten, survived and committed himself to rebuilding the firm.
He also established the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, which provided substantial financial support and healthcare assistance to the families of those killed.
Under his leadership the firm expanded into related businesses, including BGC Group and Newmark Group.
In 2025 he stepped down from his corporate roles after being confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
Accolades
Lutnick was named Financial Times Person of the Year in 2001 for his response to the September 11 attacks and the subsequent rebuilding of Cantor Fitzgerald.
In 2010 he received Ernst & Young’s United States Entrepreneur of the Year award.
He is widely recognized for the scale of the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, which distributed more than $180 million to the families of employees lost on September 11.
His long tenure as one of Wall Street’s longest-serving chief executives and his successful transformation of Cantor Fitzgerald into a diversified financial services group are frequently cited as major professional achievements.
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