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Donald Trump’s commerce secretary Howard Lutnick will sell stakes in two publicly listed companies for $361mn to comply with government ethics rules.
The Wall Street investor and Trump campaign mega donor will sell his shares in BGC and Newmark for $234mn and $127mn, respectively, the companies said on Monday. Separately, Lutnick also transferred his ownership in Cantor Fitzgerald into trusts for the benefit of his children, to be controlled by his son Brandon Lutnick.
Wall Street executives who join government ranks are often required to divest or place holdings in trust to avoid conflicts of interest. The rules allow such sales to be made without any immediate taxes on the gains in order to attract top talent without penalising them for liquidating assets.
Under the deal announced on Monday, New York-based broker BGC is buying back Lutnick’s class A shares, and Cantor Fitzgerald is purchasing his class B stock. Meanwhile, property group Newmark will buy back his entire stake.
The move further consolidates control of Cantor Fitzgerald in the hands of Brandon Lutnick, who was named chair of the holding company in February after his father was confirmed as commerce secretary. Brandon Lutnick’s brother Kyle Lutnick, who was named executive vice-chair, is also a key player in the future of the firm.
The 27-year-old Brandon Lutnick is emerging as a rising force on Wall Street under President Trump. He recently partnered with SoftBank, Tether and Bitfinex on a bitcoin-focused blank-cheque company aiming to capitalise on the crypto revival under the new administration.
As part of the leadership transition, Cantor named Pascal Bandelier, Sage Kelly and Christian Wall as co-chief executives of the investment bank. In December, the firm also hired Mike Whitaker from Citi as chief operating officer, working closely with chief financial officer Danny Salinas and Stephen Merkel, general counsel.
On Monday, Cantor also said that 26North, the private capital firm led by Apollo co-founder Josh Harris, and Glenn August, founder of credit manager Oak Hill Advisors, became minority investors. “As we enter the next chapter of our corporate journey, having the support of these world-class investors underscores the confidence in our management team and growth strategy,” said Brandon Lutnick.
Howard Lutnick, a longtime Trump ally, has played a key role in shaping the president’s trade agenda, including negotiating new tariff agreements with China and the EU.
He was also considered for US Treasury secretary and was among Trump’s top 2024 fundraisers, personally donating more than $10mn and helping raise about $75mn overall.
Other wealthy individuals have used the same mechanism to sell shares, reducing conflicts of interest but also avoiding millions of dollars of taxes.
Hank Paulson sold almost $500mn of Goldman Sachs shares in 2006 after he became Treasury secretary under president George W Bush. To take advantage of the scheme, the gains have to be put into US Treasuries or a broad mutual fund. Taxes are ultimately due if those investments are later sold.
