(Bloomberg) -- Howard Lutnick, President Donald Trump’s pick to run the Commerce Department, said in his Senate hearing that he plans to sell all his business stakes if confirmed and for the first time acknowledged a bond his firm has with a controversial cryptocurrency client.
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“I will sell all of my interests, all of my business interests, all of my assets, everything,” the longtime chief executive officer of Cantor Fitzgerald LP said Wednesday. “Upon confirmation, my business will be for sale,” he said, adding he will do so in 90 days.
During the hearing, where few senators asked critical questions, Lutnick, 63, didn’t say anything further about who might buy his firm, the continuing stakes held by family members or if he has buyers lined up already.
The billionaire can defer capital gains taxes for assets he’s required to sell to avoid conflicts of interest, meaning if he draws money from the sales of his firms, he could plow it into a fund and only pay taxes when and if he sells those portfolios.
He added that Cantor Fitzgerald, which has faced criticism for its relationship to controversial cryptocurrency firm Tether Holdings Ltd., has a convertible bond with the company. That arrangement means Cantor is able to draw a coupon and obtain shares in the issuer if certain terms occur.
Sitting behind him during his hearing was his son Brandon, who was recently named CEO of one of Cantor’s special purpose acquisition vehicles and has spent time working with Tether in Switzerland.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat who isn’t on the Commerce Committee, has pressed him on connections he and Cantor Fitzgerald have with the cryptocurrency company, which authorities allege has been used by criminal gangs, cartels, terrorists and scammers to move money.
“Tether did no business with anyone that wasn’t KYC-appropriate,” Lutnick said during the hearing, using an abbreviation for “know your customer,” adding issues were isolated to the secondary market.
Financial Holdings
The combative billionaire has one of the more complex financial situations among Trump cabinet nominees after a three-decade career running US and international firms.
Lutnick disclosed roles in at least 800 entities, assets worth at least $806 million — including 12 he valued at more than $50 million — and income of at least $356 million over 2023 and 2024.