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Howard Lutnick

Official portrait of Howard Lutnick in 2025.

Trump-Vance transition co-chair and the 41st secretary of commerce.

Relationship to TrumpTrump-appointed commerce secretary

Timeline

  1. Lutnick signs ethics divestiture commitmentsEthics agreement signed January 18, 2025Trump nominee subject to executive-branch ethics agreement · documented · 1 source
  2. Senate confirms Lutnick as commerce secretaryIn office as commerce secretaryTrump-appointed commerce secretary · documented · 2 sources
  3. Lutnick resigned from BGC and Cantor leadership on confirmation dayFormer BGC and Cantor executive; divestiture completed later in 2025Trump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald · documented · 2 sources
  4. NOAA's Great Lakes lab lost about 35 percent of its workforceHiring freeze and departures left key forecasting roles vacantTrump-appointed commerce secretary · documented · 1 source

    about 35%Great Lakes lab workforce loss

  5. Lutnick agreed to sell 16.45 million Class A and 8.97 million Class B BGC sharesSale agreements signed May 16; the related divestiture was reported complete October 6Trump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald · documented · 3 sources
    1. asset transferAgreed Class B gross consideration$82,631,817.71
      Committed transfer from
      Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P.
      Committed transfer to
      Howard Lutnick
      committed · 2025-05-16 · observedRead source record
      Calculation detailsPopulation 8,973,721 BGC Class B shares to be sold to Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P. at $9.2082Period 2025-05-16 to 2025-05-16Basis Multiply the filed Class B share count by the filed per-share sale price.Limits Agreement value before specified dividend adjustments; closing depended on the related CFGM voting-share transfers, and gross consideration excludes taxes, basis, and transaction costs.
    2. asset transferAgreed Class A gross consideration$151,501,133.37
      Committed transfer from
      BGC Group, Inc.
      Committed transfer to
      Howard Lutnick
      committed · 2025-05-16 · observedRead source record
      Calculation detailsPopulation 16,452,850 BGC Class A shares sold at $9.2082Period 2025-05-16 to 2025-05-16Basis Multiply the filed share count by the filed per-share sale price.Limits Agreement value before specified dividend adjustments; part of the Class A shares had a later closing, and gross consideration excludes taxes, basis, and transaction costs.

    8,973,721 sharesBGC Class B shares under sale agreement · 2025-05-16

    16,452,850 sharesBGC Class A shares under sale agreement · 2025-05-16

  6. Weather Service rehired forecasters after cuts left dangerous gapsNWS received authority to restore selected critical positionsTrump-appointed commerce secretary · documented · 1 source
  7. Lutnick received a limited waiver while Cantor transfers remained unfinishedJuly 8 waiver applied while divestiture remained incompleteTrump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald · reported · 4 sources
  8. Weather privatization plans overlapped Lutnick family market interestsPrivatization proposals and family business interests under scrutinyTrump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald · reported · 3 sources
  9. BGC reported Lutnick's divestiture complete with no voting powerNo reported BGC voting or dispositive powerTrump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald · documented · 3 sources
  10. Moroun meets Lutnick before Trump's bridge-opening threatMeeting reported; subsequent threat documented in lawmakers' letterreported · 1 source
  11. Garcia and Tlaib request Moroun's administration communicationsRecords request issued by two House Democratsdocumented · 1 source
  12. Lutnick's son held 75.1% of BGC voting power after the divestitureFamily control reported as of February 27, 2026Trump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald · documented · 3 sources

    75.1%BGC voting power controlled through Cantor entities · 2026-02-27

  13. Lutnick disclosed assets in a range above $723 millionCabinet financial disclosure indexed and updatedTrump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald · estimate · 2 sources
    1. otherDisclosed assets lower bound$723 million to more than $1.3 billion
      Measured subject
      Howard Lutnick
      estimated · 2026-03-05 · observedRead source record
      Calculation detailsPopulation Howard Lutnick disclosure assets aggregated by ProPublicaPeriod 2024-01-01 to 2026-03-05Basis Sum the lower endpoints of statutory asset-value ranges in the public disclosures.Limits This is a lower-bound range aggregation, not precise net worth, liquidity, or post-divestiture proceeds.

    more than 800 positionsDisclosed positions or interests · 2026-03-05

Roles and relationships

Status

  1. Alive and serving as commerce secretarylife / 2026-09-032 sources · Source
  2. Former Trump-Vance transition co-chairrelationship / 2025-02-181 source · Source
  3. Secretary of commerceoffice / 2026-09-032 sources · Source

Relationships

  1. Donald J. Trump

    Relationship to TrumpTrump-appointed commerce secretary

    businesspoliticalFull record · 2 sources
  2. Donald J. Trump

    Trump nominee subject to executive-branch ethics agreement

    businesslegalpoliticalFull record · 1 source
  3. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-Vance transition co-chair

    businesspoliticalFull record · 1 source
  4. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed commerce secretary

    politicalFull record · 1 source
  5. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed commerce secretary

    politicalFull record · 1 source
  6. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald

    businesspoliticalFull record · 3 sources
  7. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald

    businesspoliticalFull record · 2 sources
  8. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald

    businesspoliticalFull record · 3 sources
  9. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald

    businesspoliticalFull record · 2 sources
  10. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald

    businesspoliticalFull record · 3 sources
  11. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald

    businesspoliticalFull record · 4 sources
  12. Donald J. Trump

    Trump-appointed commerce secretary and former chief of Cantor Fitzgerald

    businesspoliticalFull record · 3 sources
  13. BGC Group, Inc.

    agreed to buy 16,452,850 Class A shares

    businessFull record · 3 sources
  14. Cantor Fitzgerald, L.P.

    agreed to buy 8,973,721 Class B shares

    businessFull record · 3 sources
  15. Matthew Moroun

    reportedly met with

    businesspoliticalFull record · 1 source
Source: Daniel Torok · Rights/use: CC BY 3.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ · Modified: cropped and resized