Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick disclosed that he earned at least $250 million in income and other proceeds in 2025, with the majority stemming from his former financial enterprises before he entered the Trump administration. According to CNBC’s analysis of his newly released annual financial disclosure, the largest single payment was a $192 million distribution from Cantor Fitzgerald, the global financial services firm he led for many years.
The 74-page filing, obtained by CNBC from the Office of Government Ethics, offers the most comprehensive look at Lutnick’s finances during his first year in office. While the document describes the Cantor Fitzgerald payment as a tax distribution under the ethics agreement he signed prior to taking office, it does not provide an exact figure for his total net worth because federal disclosures often list assets in broad ranges. Lutnick remains one of the wealthiest cabinet members, though his earnings significantly trail the more than $2 billion reported by President Donald Trump last year.
Beyond the Cantor Fitzgerald distribution, Lutnick reported $4.2 million in salary and bonuses from Newmark, a commercial real estate services firm, along with $19.6 million derived from an exchange of Newmark partnership units. He also received $14.1 million in compensation from BGC Group, the global financial brokerage and technology company he chaired, plus more than $5 million from BGC restricted stock units.
Lutnick stepped down from leadership roles at Cantor Fitzgerald, BGC, Newmark, and hundreds of other organizations following his confirmation as Commerce secretary in February 2025. Cantor Fitzgerald is now managed by his two eldest sons. As part of this restructuring, he sold at least $259 million in assets over the past year, including stakes exceeding $50 million each in Newmark, BGC, Cantor Fitzgerald, and CF Group Management.
Conversely, Lutnick made purchases totaling at least $166 million, primarily investing in Treasury securities and broad-market funds. These acquisitions included more than $50 million in an S&P 500 exchange-traded fund and separate purchases of over $50 million each in two Fidelity Treasury funds. Despite divesting from numerous positions, he still maintains approximately 40 outside roles, largely involving trusts, property companies, and other limited liability companies.
Twenty-fivey million dollars from Cantor Fitzgerald alone? That’s more than my entire family will earn in decades.
Distributions from a firm he still chairs part-time don’t feel like true divestment to me.
I wonder if the Treasury fund investments comply with the ethics agreement he signed before taking office.
Is it normal for a Cabinet secretary to keep forty outside roles? Seems like a conflict waiting to happen.
Three hundred million in the same year Trump made two billion. The wealth gap in our cabinet is staggering.