Bloomberg: Reaping the Benefits of Crypto? Trump's Commerce Secretary's Family Rakes in $2.5 Billion in One Year

Original Title: Howard Lutnick's Sons Score Record Year as Cantor Denies Trump Conflicts

Original Author: Todd Gillespie

Original Translation: Luffy, Foresight News

Cantor Fitzgerald LP may have a special item on this year's year-end expense report.

"I had just left the office and joked with someone that I would be happy to buy him a fold-up bed because he's coming in on Sunday and not leaving until Friday," said 53-year-old Cantor investment banking co-CEO Sage Kelly in an interview at the New York office.

The New York-based boutique private financial firm has steadily climbed the Wall Street ranks, seized on the cryptocurrency craze, and reignited its special purpose acquisition company (SPAC)-driven dealmaking to undergo its busiest and most successful year ever.

Currently controlled by brothers Brandon Lutnick and Kyle Lutnick, Cantor saw their father Howard Lutnick join the Donald Trump administration earlier this year as Secretary of Commerce. According to sources, the firm is expected to surpass $25 billion in revenue by 2025, marking a historic high and over a one-quarter growth from the previous year.

From left to right: Pascal Bandelier, Christian Wall, Kyle Lutnick, Brandon Lutnick, Sage Kelly, photographed at the company's New York office

"Industry titans like Howard, stalwart individuals have been here for 40 years and led the company for 30 years, his departure will inevitably leave a huge void," Kelly said. He serves as co-CEO alongside Pascal Bandelier and Christian Wall, overseeing the company's operations. "But the whole company stepped up and achieved success — credit goes to Brandon and Kyle."

Executives expressed aversion to the notion that "Washington's new relationship helped the company succeed." They stated that Cantor's success was not accidental, but achieved through a streamlined team and benefited from years of active preparation in areas that traditional banks had shunned.

According to sources familiar with the matter, the company's 250 proprietary traders are expected to generate over $1 billion in revenue. Based on Coalition Greenwich's data, each banker contributes around $4 million in revenue, which is about twice as efficient as Wall Street's large institutions.

Cantor's spokesperson declined to comment on the company's financial performance.

This year, Cantor led the industry in U.S. IPO underwriting and ranked fifth in all U.S. equity issuance transactions, surpassing established institutions such as Barclays and Citigroup. The company's trading business has been flourishing, with a clientele mainly from outside the U.S.; furthermore, Cantor is poised to acquire the hedge fund O'Connor from UBS Group by year-end. However, the deal faced last-minute obstacles as the unit suffered losses related to bankrupt auto parts supplier First Brands Group.

Cantor has also recruited bankers to expand into the German market and participate in the wave of U.S. regional bank mergers (there are approximately 4,000 regional banks in the U.S.). Another target market is the Middle East: Cantor has established a banking team in Dubai and is preparing to enter Abu Dhabi, planning to introduce stock sales, trading, and investment banking services to the region.

Most of Cantor's revenue surge comes from cryptocurrency-related transactions, including providing financing services to multibillion-dollar crypto treasury companies; in addition, the company laid the groundwork in its early years for the now thriving areas such as rare earth minerals, quantum computing, robotics, and data centers, which have also yielded substantial returns.

Howard Lutnick joined President Donald Trump's administration earlier this year as Commerce Secretary

"The global top five core themes happen to correspond to our five largest investments over the past three to four years," said the 46-year-old Bandelier, who also serves as head of equities, with the department's revenue expected to double by 2025 from 2008 (its previous best year).

After the Lutnick brothers and their younger siblings took over the majority ownership of the company, this series of successes has attracted wide attention from Wall Street and Washington. Executives have refuted allegations of conflicts of interest, stating that they now operate the company independently of Howard and had already positioned themselves in these inevitably heating-up business areas, with today's profits being a natural result.

「I assure you, we did not get something for nothing,」 Kelly said. 「It's easy for competitors to say that because they are not personally involved in our work every day and do not understand the hardships involved.」

On Tuesday, at the luxurious Ritz-Carlton hotel in Miami Beach, Brandon Lutnick described the busy period the family had just been through at a meeting.

「My brother Kyle and I have always looked forward to taking on these roles, but everything has indeed happened much sooner than we expected,」 said 27-year-old Brandon. He serves as the Chairman and CEO of the holding company, while his 29-year-old brother Kyle serves as Vice Chairman. 「For our company, this year has been a magnificent one.」

The previous evening, Brandon hosted a dinner where he sat next to former presidential cryptocurrency advisor Bo Hines, cryptocurrency exchange founders the Winklevoss brothers, and cryptocurrency advocate and television personality Kevin O'Leary, famous for the show "Shark Tank."

Cantor also partnered with long-time client Tether to launch a stablecoin in the United States; serving as the company's financial advisor (Cantor is also an investor in Tether), assisting in its fundraising. This fundraising could value Tether at up to $500 billion, bringing Cantor billions in profits. Additionally, the Genius Act passed by the Trump administration in July provides a regulatory framework for stablecoins in the United States, benefiting Cantor.

「Long before Howard entered government, we were already involved in the cryptocurrency field,」 Kelly said. 「Long before Howard took office, we had ventured into the tech and industrial sectors, as well as entered the electricity and renewable energy industry.」

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino and Cantor Chairman Brandon Lutnick at the 2025 Las Vegas Bitcoin Conference

Not everyone believes in Cantor's independence. In August of this year, Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren requested more information, citing reports that Cantor was considering brokering a deal where a hedge fund would profit if U.S. tariffs were lifted. Sources familiar with the matter revealed that while other banks had been involved in such transactions, Cantor, to avoid potential conflicts of interest accusations, not only abandoned the deal but also refused to provide advisory services for the Trump Media Technology Group's Bitcoin asset vault.

「When the son of the Secretary of Commerce takes charge of the Wall Street firm once led by his father, one cannot help but question the propriety of everything,」 Wyden wrote in an email to Bloomberg in August.

However, in today's unprecedented intertwining of politics and business, Cantor did not shy away from interactions with government officials. At a conference in Miami, the company hosted President's son Eric Trump, as well as Texas Senator Ted Cruz—Cruz chairs the committee responsible for reviewing the Department of Commerce led by Howard Lutnick. That evening, Brandon Lutnick hurried to Washington and attended a dinner at the White House with Wall Street titans and his father.

For years, cryptocurrency has been met with skepticism, but early investors believe that the arrival of wealth is only a matter of time.

「One must endure the winter to welcome the spring,」 said 50-year-old Wall. He oversees the company's fixed income business, which launched a service offering billions of dollars in loans collateralized by Bitcoin and completed its first transaction in May. Wall stated that the Trump administration's support for innovation, regulatory clarity, and subsequent institutional adoption are «ushering in a whole new world».

Bandelier noted that the company's success also benefited from the sluggishness of mid-sized U.S. banks. «It's the easiest time to recruit in my career,» he said.

In a sense, Cantor and the cryptocurrency industry have already undergone a transformation, as this year's Miami conference (the third in four years) was the first to be open to the media.

Another milestone was the keynote speech by Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, delivered before two of the most influential U.S. financial regulatory figures—SEC Chairman Paul Atkins and CFTC Acting Chair Caroline Pham.

During the conference break, these three individuals posed for a photo with Brandon Lutnick and Cantor's General Counsel Stephen Merkel, all smiles.

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