Howard Lutnick (born July 14, 1961) overcame the early loss of both parents to rise from a protégé of B. Gerald Cantor to become CEO and chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald in 1990, where he pioneered the eSpeed electronic trading platform. He is most widely known for his leadership after the September 11, 2001 attacks, which killed 658 of his employees—including his brother Gary—though his immediate decision to stop paying salaries to victims' families drew sharp criticism. After fundraising for Hillary Clinton in 2016, Lutnick pivoted to become a major backer of Donald Trump, co-chairing his 2024 presidential transition team. Nominated in November 2024, he was confirmed as the 41st U.S. Secretary of Commerce in February 2025, where he has been a vocal advocate for tariffs and made controversial statements regarding Social Security payments. In 2025, Time magazine named him one of the world's 100 most influential people, cementing his dual legacy as a resilient financial titan and a polarizing political figure.