He Lost 658 Employees on 9/11 — Then He Made a Promise to Their Families
On the morning of September 11, 2001, Howard Lutnick was supposed to be at work.
As chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, one of the most important financial firms operating in the World Trade Center, Lutnick normally arrived at the office early. His company occupied floors 101 through 105 of the North Tower, high above Lower Manhattan.
But that morning was different.
It was his son Kyle's first day of kindergarten. Instead of heading straight to the office, Lutnick stayed with his wife and took his five-year-old son to school. In an interview with CBS News years later, Lutnick recalled that he had taken his son to his first day of kindergarten just minutes before the first plane struck the North Tower.
That ordinary family decision would save his life.
But for hundreds of people who worked for him, there would be no such second chance.
When the attacks were over, 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees had been killed. Among them was Lutnick's younger brother, Gary, as well as his close friend Doug Gardner. The company had lost roughly two-thirds of its New York workforce in a matter of minutes.
What happened afterward became one of the most remarkable stories of corporate loss, responsibility and rebuilding to emerge from the September 11 attacks.
Lutnick could not bring his employees back.
He could not give families back their husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, brothers or sisters.
But he could make a decision about what the company would do next.
And he decided that the families of those who had died would not be forgotten.
A Normal Morning That Became a Day of Tragedy
Before September 11, Cantor Fitzgerald was a major player in the financial world, particularly in the trading of U.S. government securities.
Its headquarters occupied some of the highest floors of the World Trade Center's North Tower. According to CBS News, Cantor Fitzgerald's offices were located on floors 101 through 105.
Hundreds of employees were already at work that morning.
Then, at 8:46 a.m., American Airlines Flight 11 struck the North Tower.
The building immediately became a scene of chaos.
Lutnick was not inside.
He was outside with his son.
But when he learned that a plane had hit the World Trade Center, he rushed toward the building. He later recalled driving toward the tower while smoke filled the sky and people moved in the opposite direction, trying to escape.
He wanted to know whether his employees had survived.
He tried to find people coming out of the building and asked them what floors they had been on.
But the reality became increasingly horrifying.
The people working on Cantor Fitzgerald's floors were trapped above the point of impact.
By the end of the day, all 658 Cantor Fitzgerald employees who had been in the company's office that morning were dead.
The number was almost impossible to comprehend.
Six hundred and fifty-eight people.
Six hundred and fifty-eight families.
Hundreds of children.
Thousands of friends, relatives and colleagues.
And among those names was someone Lutnick knew not merely as an employee, but as his younger brother.
Lutnick Lost His Brother
The loss was therefore intensely personal.
Lutnick's younger brother Gary was inside the building.
In an interview with Larry King shortly after the attacks, Lutnick described how his brother had managed to call their sister. Gary was trapped on the 103rd floor and told her that the situation was becoming impossible. He said goodbye and asked her to tell Howard that he loved him.
It was a devastating final message.
Lutnick had lost hundreds of people who worked for him, but the tragedy also reached directly into his own family.
His brother was gone.
His close friend was gone.
Most of the people he had worked alongside in New York were gone.
And yet, there was still a company to run.
There were still families to help.
There were still bills to pay.
There were still children who needed to grow up.
The question was what Cantor Fitzgerald would do next.
The Company Had Almost Disappeared Overnight
The scale of Cantor Fitzgerald's losses meant that rebuilding the company was almost unimaginable.
The firm had lost 658 of its 960 New York-based employees. Cantor Fitzgerald's own corporate history confirms the figure and describes the September 11 attack as a catastrophic loss for the organization.
Most companies experiencing such a disaster would have struggled simply to survive.
Cantor Fitzgerald was no exception.
The company had enormous financial pressures immediately after the attacks. Its workforce had been devastated, its offices had been destroyed, and its revenue-producing employees were gone.
In a 2011 interview with CBS News, Lutnick explained that the firm was losing approximately $1 million a day in the immediate aftermath because it had expenses but virtually no revenue coming in.
There were also difficult decisions about salaries.
Some families were understandably angry when the company stopped paying the salaries of employees who had died. Lutnick explained that Cantor Fitzgerald simply did not have enough revenue to continue paying the salaries of hundreds of people who were no longer alive while also keeping the surviving company financially viable.
It was an extraordinarily painful situation.
But Lutnick argued that there was another way to help the families — one that depended on rebuilding the company rather than allowing it to collapse.
The surviving employees would go back to work.
And they would work to make the company profitable again.
Not simply for themselves.
For the families.
A Promise of 25 Percent of the Profits
One of the most significant commitments came shortly after the attacks.
Cantor Fitzgerald pledged 25 percent of the company's profits for five years to the families of the employees who had died.
The company also committed to paying for 10 years of healthcare coverage for surviving family members. Cantor Fitzgerald's official history confirms both commitments.
The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund states that the commitment ultimately totaled approximately $180 million in support for the affected families.
The figure is enormous, but the circumstances behind it make the commitment even more striking.
Cantor Fitzgerald was not a company sitting comfortably on enormous reserves after September 11.
It had just lost most of its New York employees.
It was fighting to survive.
Yet the company tied its own future to the wellbeing of the families.
If Cantor Fitzgerald recovered and made money, the families would benefit.
That meant the surviving employees had an additional reason to rebuild.
They weren't simply trying to restore a business.
They were trying to preserve a promise.
The First Payment Came Quickly
The $180 million figure was not simply a theoretical pledge.
In the aftermath of the attacks, the company began making payments.
Lutnick told CBS News that Cantor Fitzgerald initially made a $45 million payment in October 2001 after determining how much money the company needed in order to survive. The remaining support was connected to the company's future profits.
The approach reflected an unusual philosophy.
The company needed to survive in order to help the families.
If Cantor Fitzgerald disappeared, there would be no future profits to distribute.
So rebuilding the company became part of fulfilling the commitment.
In other words, survival itself became a form of responsibility.
Healthcare Was Another Part of the Promise
Financial support was only one problem facing the families.
Many people who died on September 11 had been primary earners for their households.
Their deaths could therefore create an immediate financial crisis.
But families also needed health insurance.
Cantor Fitzgerald promised 10 years of healthcare coverage for the surviving families. Both the company's own history and its Relief Fund continue to document that commitment.
For a grieving family, healthcare may not sound as symbolic as a memorial or a public ceremony.
But it can be one of the most important forms of practical support.
Children still need medical care.
Parents still need treatment.