Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s pick to run the Department of Commerce, revealed hundreds of millions of dollars in assets and income in a new financial disclosure form and ethics agreement released Friday — including more than $200 million in income and distributions from his Wall Street firm over the past two years alone.
Lutnick also formally reiterated his promise to resign from his position at his financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald and divest from a variety of business interests if he’s confirmed, according to the ethics agreement.
The publication of the much-anticipated documents comes as the Trump 2024 transition co-chair has come under intense scrutiny over potential conflicts of interest given his slew of business ties. His Senate confirmation hearing before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, now scheduled for next Wednesday, had been delayed over the slow arrival of the necessary financial and ethics paperwork.
The documents released Friday show the extent of the business entanglements from which Lutnick will have to divest if confirmed to lead the Commerce Department, and the complications that could arise given the scale and scope of those ties.
The 92-page financial disclosure report details connections to more than 800 organizations, while the ethics report includes pledges for him to divest from the core of his business interests, along with his wife and minor children. Lutnick did not, however, rule out allowing his adult children to remain linked to those interests.
Lutnick earned more than $30 million over the past two years from his post as executive chair of the Newmark Group, a commercial real estate services firm, and more than $8 million in salary and bonuses from BCG Group, according to the financial disclosure.
A prominent Wall Street figure, Lutnick rebuilt the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed hundreds of the company’s employees, including his brother. He earned less than $201 from a book detailing that story during the reporting period, according to his financial disclosure.
Cantor Fitzgerald has managed assets for controversial crypto firm Tether, which issues digital tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar. Lutnick has vouched for the company’s legitimacy despite ties to a number of finance scandals worldwide, while skeptics have raised concerns about its stability. He is a major supporter of cryptocurrency generally, in line with Trump’s enthusiasm for it.
As part of the ethics agreement, Lutnick has also agreed to resign from his positions not only with Cantor Fitzgerald but also the financial services firm BGC Group and the commercial real estate firm Newark Group.
Lutnick said he will divest from assets in trusts within 90 days after confirmation, as well, including the Walt Disney Company and NASDAQ.
The financial form revealed that he also borrowed more than $100 million from Bank of America.
If confirmed, Lutnick will be key to implementing Trump’s sweeping trade and tariff agenda. Trump’s vow to enact significant tariffs on key U.S. trade partners has drawn concern from some Republicans, who fear it could drive consumer price increases.
Trump has vowed to create an “External Revenue Service” to collect tariffs — something that Lutnick has also touted.
