Howard Lutnick

Howard Lutnick
Lutnick in 2025
41st United States Secretary of Commerce
Incumbent
Assumed office February 21, 2025
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Gina Raimondo
Personal details
Born	Howard William Lutnick (1961-07-14) July 14, 1961 (age 63) Long Island, New York, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Allison Lambert ​ (m. 1994)​
Children	4
Education	Haverford College (BA)

Howard William Lutnick (born July 14, 1961) is an American businessman and philanthropist who has served as the United States secretary of commerce since 2025.

Lutnick graduated from Haverford College in 1983. He was hired at Cantor Fitzgerald that year under the mentorship of the firm's founder, B. Gerald Cantor. In 1990, Lutnick became president and chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald. After a medical incident involving Cantor in 1995, he entered into a legal dispute with Cantor's wife, Iris, over Cantor's succession plans. Lutnick was appointed chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald after Cantor's death in 1996. He invested significantly in technology, establishing an electronic trading platform known as eSpeed. In the September 11 attacks, Cantor Fitzgerald lost 658 employees, including Howard's brother, Gary. After the attacks, Lutnick became nationally recognized for his leadership, though he garnered controversy for not paying dead employees. Since the attacks, Lutnick has invested in philanthropy.

Lutnick was a fundraiser for Donald Trump's 2020 and 2024 presidential campaigns, as well as a vocal proponent of Trump's proposal to implement broad tariffs. He served as co-chair of Trump's 2024 presidential transition team. In August 2024, he was named as the co-chair of Donald Trump's presidential transition. President-elect Trump named Lutnick as his nominee for secretary of commerce in November. A Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee hearing for Lutnick was held in January 2025, and he was confirmed by the Senate in February.