09/09/2026
A Father’s Morning Decision Saved His Life—But Cost Him 658 Colleagues
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Howard Lutnick was supposed to be at his desk on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center, leading Cantor Fitzgerald.
Instead, he was doing something much more ordinary—and much more important.
He was taking his five-year-old son, Kyle, to his first day of kindergarten.
That decision saved Lutnick’s life.
At 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower, directly below Cantor Fitzgerald’s headquarters. In an instant, 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees were killed, including Lutnick’s brother, Gary.
Lutnick rushed toward the scene as the towers collapsed. He had survived, but almost everything surrounding his professional life had disappeared. Friends, colleagues, and members of the company’s leadership were gone.
Cantor Fitzgerald itself was suddenly fighting for survival.
In the difficult days that followed, the company faced questions about whether it could continue operating. Lutnick also faced criticism after payroll was temporarily frozen. But his focus was on keeping the company alive so it could support the families of those who had been lost.
He made a promise: Cantor Fitzgerald would survive, and its future would help the families left behind.
The surviving employees worked under extraordinary emotional pressure. Lutnick pledged 25% of the company’s profits to the victims’ families and committed to providing healthcare for a decade. The company ultimately distributed $180 million through its relief efforts.
Then came another promise.
Lutnick told the children who had lost parents that when they grew up, there would be a place for them at Cantor Fitzgerald.
Years later, that promise became reality. As those children reached adulthood, they were welcomed into the company where their parents had once worked. According to Cantor Fitzgerald, 57 children of 9/11 victims have since joined the firm.
The company also established its annual Charity Day on September 11, with 100% of its global revenues donated to charities around the world.
What began as one father taking his son to kindergarten became a story of unimaginable loss—and of a company determined to keep its promise to the families left behind.