You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Howard Lutnick emerged from the rough-and-tumble world of voice-trading treasury brokers.Credit...Eric Lee/The New York TimesBefore becoming U.S. commerce secretary, Mr. Lutnick controlled 818 companies. A review of their dealings sheds light on his freewheeling first year in government.Howard Lutnick emerged from the rough-and-tumble world of voice-trading treasury brokers.Credit...Eric Lee/The New York TimesListen · 17:57 min By Michael Rothfeld and Ana SwansonMichael Rothfeld and Ana Swanson reported from New York, Washington and Florida; conducted dozens of interviews; and reviewed thousands of pages of records related to Howard Lutnick’s career and the 818 companies he led.May 28, 2026When auto executives learned last year that President Trump’s punishing tariffs on foreign car parts were set to cost their companies billions of dollars, they were rattled.Eager to lessen the blow, they began calling and visiting Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick in his spacious, wood-paneled office near the White House, where they negotiated, complained and cajoled in talks that stretched on for months.Then, in October, there came a breakthrough: Mr. Lutnick and his aides informed the automakers that the administration would offer a credit on auto part tariffs for American-made cars, retroactive to when the levies began in May 2025, according to six industry executives, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private discussions.What happened next would leave them flabbergasted, with billions of dollars fewer than they had anticipated — and would drive home the sense that Mr. Lutnick, a 64-year-old billionaire, was a commerce secretary unlike any in recent memory.In a freewheeling first year in office, Mr. Lutnick, one of President Trump’s most influential deputies, has used the power of the federal government in unorthodox and aggressive ways. Some of his tactics have been creative. Others were blunt-force. Still others were downright outlandish.All of them were honed during decades at the helm of the Wall Street investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, a period in which he amassed wealth and prominence and assumed leadership positions at a dizzying array of corporate entities, at least 818 in all.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT