By Ben Glickman and Dean Seal

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is handing ownership of the Wall Street firm he ran for over three decades to his children and selling his stakes in other parts of his empire for over $360 million.

Cantor Fitzgerald said Monday that Lutnick would transfer his ownership of the company to trusts benefiting his adult children. His two eldest sons, Brandon and Kyle Lutnick, were named chairman and executive vice chairman, respectively, of the firm after their father was confirmed to his cabinet position earlier this year.

The billionaire had said with his confirmation that he would shed his interests in Cantor, as well as his holdings in two companies that Cantor controls, as part of his government ethics agreement. He had run the Wall Street shop for decades and famously rebuilt Cantor after most of its New York staff was killed on Sept. 11, 2001.

Cantor said the firm's existing management would remain after the Lutnick deal and that two private investors will now become minority owners. Josh Harris's 26North and Oak Hill Advisors founder Glenn August will both become minority holders in Cantor Fitzgerald's partnership, the firm said. Terms of those deals weren't disclosed.

Meanwhile, two Cantor Fitzgerald-owned businesses said they would buy back stock from Lutnick. Newmark Group, a real-estate company, said it would buy about $127 million worth of its stock from Lutnick, while BGC, a financial brokerage firm, said Lutnick would sell a total of about $234 million of shares. (Cantor Fitzgerald continues to have controlling interests in both BGC and Newmark.)

Since joining the administration, Lutnick has been one of President Trump's main trade policy advocates, meeting with dozens of business leaders, appearing on television and often standing alongside Trump. At Trump's Liberation Day announcement of tariffs, it was Lutnick helping hold the poster board chart that investors said shocked them.

Despite stepping away from leadership of the firm, Lutnick's close connections to Cantor Fitzgerald's business interests have drawn criticism from Democratic lawmakers, including when he suggested buying Elon Musk's Tesla stock. The Trump administration has voiced full-throated support for the cryptocurrency industry, which Cantor is heavily connected to.

Write to Ben Glickman at ben.glickman@wsj.com and Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 19, 2025 10:48 ET (14:48 GMT)

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