Billionaire Howard Lutnick to divest corporate holdings to assume commerce secretary post, documents show

Howard Lutnick, the billionaire financial executive named by President Trump to head the Commerce Department, has agreed to divest his holdings in a range of business interests, including stepping down from his longstanding position as head of the brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald.
Lutnick also agreed to step down from his position with the global brokerage and financial technology company BGC Group, Inc., which holds sizeable government contracts, and he has agreed to depart as chairman of Newmark Group, Inc., a commercial real estate firm, according to an ethics filing obtained by CBS News.
That document and a 92-page financial disclosure report Lutnick filed late Wednesday offer a glimpse into considerable challenges of divestiture facing the long list of super-wealthy executives who have sought positions in the incoming Trump administrations.
File: Secretary of Commerce nominee Howard Lutnick arrives for his meeting with Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Lutnick has pledged to avoid conflicts of interest that may arise as he works to promote U.S. corporate interests atop the Commerce Department. As someone who will retain vast holdings even after he steps down from his corporate positions, the task will be complex.
As commerce secretary, Lutnick, if confirmed, would be in charge of a sprawling Cabinet agency that is involved in funding new computer chip factories, imposing trade restrictions, releasing economic data and monitoring the weather. It is also a position in which connections to CEOs and the wider business community are crucial.
An advocate for imposing wide-ranging tariffs, Lutnick told CNBC in September that