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- Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reported at least $250 million in income and other proceeds in 2025, much of it tied to businesses he left after joining the Trump administration, according to his annual financial disclosure.
- The largest item was a $192 million Cantor Fitzgerald distribution that his filing describes as a tax distribution handled under his ethics agreement.
- Lutnick reported at least $259 million in asset sales and $166 million in purchases, according to CNBC calculations based off his disclosure. The income was largely from Treasury and broad-market funds, as he unwound major business holdings.
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick listens as NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang speaks during the G20 Innovation Ministerial in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, on September 2, 2026. Matt Ramey | Afp | Getty Images
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reported at least $250 million in income and other proceeds last year, much of it from the financial businesses he left behind when he joined the Trump administration, according to CNBC’s calculations from his newly released 2025 annual financial disclosure.
The largest piece was a $192 million distribution from Cantor Fitzgerald, the global financial services firm Lutnick led for decades. His annual financial disclosure describes the payment as a tax distribution handled under the ethics agreement he signed before taking office.
The 74-page filing obtained by CNBC from the Office of Government Ethics provides the fullest accounting yet of Lutnick’s finances during his first year in government. Because federal financial disclosures report many assets in broad ranges, the filing does not provide a precise estimate of his wealth.
Still, Lutnick remains one of the wealthiest members of Trump’s cabinet, but pales in comparison to the more than $2 billion the president earned last year.
Lutnick also disclosed $4.2 million in salary and bonus from commercial real estate services firm Newmark and $19.6 million from an exchange of Newmark partnership units. Additionally, he received $14.1 million in salary and bonus from BGC Group, the global financial brokerage and technology that he chaired, and more than $5 million from BGC restricted stock units.
The former Wall Street executive stepped down from leadership roles at Cantor, BGC, Newmark and hundreds of other organizations after his confirmation as commerce secretary in February 2025. Cantor is now run by his two oldest sons.
As part of that unwind, Lutnick reported selling at least $259 million in assets during the year, according to CNBC’s calculations from the disclosure. The transactions included stakes worth more than $50 million each in Newmark, BGC, Cantor Fitzgerald and CF Group Management.
He also reported at least $166 million in purchases, largely in Treasury and broad-market funds. He bought more than $50 million of an S&P 500 exchange-traded fund and made two separate purchases of more than $50 million in a Fidelity Treasury fund.
Despite leaving hundreds of positions associated with his former businesses, Lutnick still listed roughly 40 outside positions as ongoing, largely involving trusts, property companies and other LLCs.
