While President Donald Trump may very well be having his “worst day” in office after the Supreme Court ruled against his tariff policy on Friday, commentators cited a report that claimed the family of one top Trump official stands to profit handsomely from the court’s decision.
That top Trump official is Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who for 30 years led the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald as its CEO, handing off control of the firm to his sons after joining the Trump administration last year. Lutnick has championed Trump’s tariffs in public, but Wired reported in July that the firm was "taking bets against them."
On Friday, Cantor denied any involvement in the government's tariffs. “As stated previously, Cantor can confirm that it is not in the business of positioning any risk, taking views, or facilitating trades in litigation claims involving the legality of US tariffs," a spokesperson said.
A senior banker told Semafor that Cantor had looked at the product, but decided against pursuing it because of political sensitivities.
In July, Wired claimed documents obtained by the outlet showed Cantor Fitzgerald had purchased the rights to tariff refunds from affected companies, paying 20% to 30% of what companies had paid out in tariffs. In effect, the firm now led by Lutnick’s sons wagered that Trump’s tariffs would be struck down in court, and now stands to reap returns of roughly three to five times its initial investments.
“If you're keeping track, this is the 53rd scheme by a Trump official to profit from government policy or stealing from the American tax payer,” wrote journalist Adam Cochran in a social media post on X Friday.
“For every $100 invested, Lutnick's sons just made 3-5x,” wrote another, Kevin Paffrath, a real-estate broker and political commentator, to his nearly 400,000 followers on X. “Welcome to Crony Corrupt America.”