Full Breakdown
Cantor Fitzgerald Remembers 9/11: Family Losses, a Near-Miss and Ongoing Commitment
By Drooid · · How we work
Core Event – 25th Anniversary of Cantor’s 9/11 Tragedy
On September 11, 2001, American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center below Cantor Fitzgerald’s offices on floors 101-105. The firm lost 658 of its 960 New York employees in the attack, including Howard Lutnick’s brother Gary and Brandon Lutnick’s godfather, Doug Gardner. Howard Lutnick, then CEO, survived because his wife sent him to drop off his son Kyle for the boy’s first day of kindergarten, keeping him away from the 105th-floor desk he normally occupied that morning.
Background & Context – Cantor’s Presence in the Towers and Its Aftermath
Cantor Fitzgerald had a major government-bond brokerage operation in the North Tower. The loss of two-thirds of its New York workforce threatened the firm’s survival; analysts noted it was losing $1 million a day after the attacks. Within days, Cantor resumed electronic trading using its eSpeed platform and support staff in London, allowing the firm to maintain service to New York clients.
Data & Statistics – Human and Financial Toll
- 658 Cantor employees killed in the North Tower.
- 960 Cantor employees were based in New York before the attacks.
- The firm’s post-attack profit pledge and health-coverage commitment eventually totaled $180 million for families of the deceased.
- Cantor created a standing employment offer for the children of lost employees, a program that has placed hundreds of those children in jobs at the firm.
Official Statements & Responses – Family Reflections and Corporate Promise
Brandon Lutnick, now chairman, posted on LinkedIn that his earliest memories of the day are “everything that came after,” emphasizing how the tragedy shaped his childhood. He added that the victims must not become “fodder for political fights” and stressed the firm’s ongoing commitment to honor them through an annual Charity Day that donates a full day’s revenue to global causes.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I don’t remember 9/11. I was three years old. What I remember is everything that came after,” — Brandon Lutnick, CEO
- “My father was dropping off my brother Kyle on his first day of kindergarten,” — Brandon Lutnick, CEO
- “It was not a strategy. It was our promise, and a lesson in what people can deliver to one another when the unthinkable happens,” — Brandon Lutnick, CEO
- “We cannot let that revisionism turn the people killed that day into a partisan dispute,” — Brandon Lutnick, CEO
What’s Next – Continuing Remembrance
Each year, Cantor Fitzgerald holds a memorial ceremony and its Charity Day, reinforcing the pledge to support families of the fallen and to keep the memory of September 11 alive for future generations.
