The current American news programs often showcase a balding man who passionately defends U.S. President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff and cryptocurrency policies, arguing against the media’s scrutiny of the White House. That man is Howard Lutnick, now serving as the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, known for once proudly declaring that the work of “millions and millions of human beings screwing in little, little screws to make iPhones” would come to the U.S. and be automated, thereby creating jobs for the Americans.
Sometimes seen as the enemy of Wall Street, Lutnick is actually quite an interesting figure with many stories behind him. Compared to the ambitious but incompetent Scott Bessent, Lutnick truly has talent and exercises sound strategy. Judging from his past experiences and interactions with President Trump, it seems Lutnick may have a longer path ahead of him within the Trump administration than others.
Lutnick was born in July 1961 into a Jewish family on Long Island, New York. His father was a history professor at a local university, while his mother was a painter and sculptor. Although his high school and college years were far from smooth, as his parents passed away during this time, Lutnick did not give up on his future. Instead, he continued his education while working to repay the debts left by his father. With the help of a university scholarship, he chose to major in economics and, after graduating in 1983, successfully entered the world of finance on Wall Street.
He began his career at Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm founded in 1945. The company specialized in institutional equities, fixed income, investment banking, and commercial real estate financing. While not as large or wealthy as giants like Goldman Sachs or JPMorgan Chase, Cantor Fitzgerald had long been a major player in the bond market. Financial firms regularly relied on intermediaries like Cantor to execute bond trades without revealing their own trading intentions.
Bernard Cantor, the founder of Cantor Fitzgerald, greatly appreciated Lutnick’s capabilities and later appointed him as the company's chief executive and president. Within the industry, Lutnick has a reputation that’s often described as complicated. Many see him as a cold and ruthless figure who has made plenty of enemies over the years. At the same time, Lutnick placed a strong emphasis on technology and digitization, believing that these innovations were key to maintaining the company’s competitiveness and profitability. In 1999, he made the decision to take Cantor’s electronic trading subsidiary, eSpeed, public. However, some of the firm's brokers feared that the new electronic trading system would eventually put them out of work.
In fact, it was the much-doubted eSpeed that ended up saving Cantor Fitzgerald at its most critical moment. On the morning of the 9/11 attacks in 2001, the plane struck the World Trade Center tower where Cantor’s offices were located, killing all 658 employees present. That day, Howard Lutnick survived only because he was taking his son to the kindergarten.
With two-thirds of its workforce lost, industry observers predicted that Cantor Fitzgerald would soon collapse. Yet, thanks to eSpeed, the company was able to quickly restore its electronic trading operations. Just 47 hours after the attacks, the bond market reopened under intense pressure, and Cantor, with support from its London office and the resilience of eSpeed, managed to resume business. Sympathy from the public and the broader financial community following the tragedy also played a role in helping Lutnick and his company weather the crisis.
In 2008, Lutnick merged eSpeed with other brokerage operations to form a publicly traded company called BGC Partners. The market initially responded with skepticism, downgrading BGC’s valuation. One investor even referred to this reaction as applying the “Lutnick discount”. To navigate around the issue, Lutnick spun eSpeed off from BGC and, in 2013, sold it to the NASDAQ OMX Group for USD 750 million in cash plus stock payments to be made over 15 years. As NASDAQ's stock price rose over time, the value of those stock payments increased significantly, ultimately pushing the total value of the deal above USD 2 billion, surpassing BGC’s entire market capitalization at the time.
In addition to e-payment system, Lutnick has also shown great interest in the potential of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. As early as 2020, after the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued new regulations on digital asset custody and settlement, Lutnick partnered with Tether CFO Giancarlo Devasini to promote Cantor Fitzgerald’s entry into the digital asset management sector. Beginning in 2021, the company started helping Tether manage its substantial U.S. Treasury reserves that back its stablecoin USDT (the currency code for Tether).
Lutnick is a staunch supporter of Bitcoin. In an exclusive interview with Bitcoin Magazine, he stated, “Bitcoin is a commodity, and it should be treated like a commodity. It should be treated like oil. It should be treated like gold”. He emphasized that this means Bitcoin should be freely traded. These remarks, along with his vision of turning the U.S. into a Bitcoin nation, have drawn considerable attention within the industry. As digital gold, Bitcoin’s decentralized nature and limited supply have increasingly solidified its role in global asset allocation. As Secretary of Commerce, Lutnick’s support undoubtedly injects strong momentum into Bitcoin’s path toward regulatory compliance and mainstream acceptance. Trump himself also places significant value on virtual currencies, which is one reason why he and Lutnick are considered relatively compatible.
It is worth noting that Trump and Lutnick share a number of similarities. According to a Forbes report, both men amassed their initial fortunes in New York during the 1980s; Trump through real estate, and Lutnick on Wall Street. Their business approaches also bear resemblances: both have frequently shifted between various profit-making ventures, and both have at times attracted regulatory scrutiny for issues such as alleged fraud, poor record-keeping, or concerns over money laundering. They are known for their hardline personas and their affinity for a lavish lifestyle. Of course, they also differ in key ways, such as their attention to detail. Unlike Trump, who is often seen as unconcerned with minutiae, Lutnick is known for his meticulousness. Despite these personality differences, Trump chose Lutnick as a close advisor. In part, this is because Trump sees value in having someone like Lutnick support his policies on Bitcoin and economic affairs. Trump also draws on Lutnick’s personal narrative of loss and resilience during the 9/11 attacks to present a narrative of perseverance and patriotism within his administration. A senior researcher at ANBOUND noted that Trump’s core team consists primarily of fighters rather than academic or establishment figures focused solely on theory. Moreover, Trump tends to appoint his personnel in phases, and some current appointees may be replaced within a year or two. Given Lutnick’s hands-on business experience and his personal rapport with Trump, as well as their ideological and temperamental similarities, he is likely to remain influential over the longer term.
Final analysis conclusion:
In contrast to the overly ambitious yet underqualified and unrefined Scott Bessent, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick brings substantial experience and genuine competence to the table. His strategies and perspectives within the Trump administration are also relatively pragmatic. Moreover, both he and Trump place significant value on the role of virtual currencies. Compared to others, it appears that Lutnick is likely to have a more enduring presence within Trump’s team.
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Zhijiang Zhao is a Research Fellow for Geopolitical Strategy programme at ANBOUND, an independent think tank.
