The elections have not yet taken place, but Donald Trump is already preparing for what comes next. And it’s Howard Lutnick who must seek out thousands of potential employees for his new administration. After rebuilding his company Cantor Fitzgerald, whose ranks were decimated by the September 11, 2001 attack, the businessman threw all his strength into the Republican candidate’s campaign. His role: examine potential political appointments and work on Donald Trump’s proposals. Among the subjects close to his heart: a radical crackdown on immigration and an increase in customs tariffs on imported goods. Alongside Howard Lutnick, Elon Musk, as well as investors John Paulson and Scott Bessent, are dispensing economic advice and vying for the possible post of Treasury Secretary.
On the list of friends of the real estate mogul, Howard Lutnick is well placed. While he sits front row at Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden, the 60-year-old also escorts the Republican candidate on these trips. Whether at an event in Michigan or visiting the grave of an Orthodox Jewish leader. On weekends, the two men play golf, their common passion. “Lutnick is the main emissary of ‘Make America Great Again’ on Wall Street, a place where some leaders have embraced former President Donald Trump’s tax policies but are wary of the tone of his rallies,” the statement said. Wall Street Journal.
Unsurprisingly, Howard Lutnick aligns himself with his friend’s ideological positions, especially since he too is keen on conspiracy theories. Thursday, October 31, Howard Lutnick made the front page of the American press, questioning the safety of vaccines for children. The businessman asked CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins: “Why do you think vaccines are safe?
Note that the CEO is well known to the American media since a quarter of the victims of the World Trade Center worked for him during the attack of September 11, 2001. That day, the businessman left to accompany his son at school and becomes, in a few minutes, “a survivor with an exceptional destiny”. An ideal candidate for American television, especially when he breaks down in tears in the middle of an interview. “Howard Lutnick, a personality that this country will not forget,” said ABC News presenter Peter Jennings at the time.
A man strongly criticized after September 11
But this grace period does not last. Our colleagues from Wall Street Journal recall, that Howard Lutnick’s behavior was strongly criticized: “Four days after the attack, while the country was in shock and the smoke was still rising above Ground Zero, he stopped paying salaries from its employees to their families, even before we know the exact number of victims.” After this controversy, Harold Lutnick gave families more than $90 million from his own savings. “They also received a share of the company’s profits for five years and other funds, which ultimately amounted to more than $180 million in additional money,” the paper said.
Twenty years later, the sixty-year-old has bounced back, rebuilding his business brick by brick. Ironically, the man who had to hire thousands of employees in the process is now responsible for selecting candidates for a similar number of positions in the event of a second Trump administration. But Howard Lutnick is afraid of nothing, hardened by the tragedy of September 11 and a damaged childhood. While he was growing up on Long Island in the 1970s, his parents died during his adolescence. They will leave him no inheritance. After university, the young man went to work at Cantor, a brokerage company whose founder was Bernie Cantor Lutnick. He rose to the top of the company before he was 30 years old.
On the political scene, the businessman navigated between the two traditional parties. “During the 2016 election, he gave money to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as well as Kamala Harris, who was running in California for the U.S. Senate,” according to OpenSecrets.org. Except he also sent a donation to Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Donald Trump at the same time. Little by little, Howard Lutnick is moving away from the Democratic Party, disagreeing on questions of immigration or taxation. Today, he seems to have chosen his side.