While President Donald Trump may very well be having his “worst day” in office after the Supreme Court ruled against his tariff policy on Friday, the family of one top Trump official stands to profit handsomely from the court’s decision, a potential payout that ignited a wave of outrage from critics.
That top Trump official is Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who for 30 years led the financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald as its CEO, handing off control of the firm to his sons after joining the Trump administration last year. Lutnick has championed Trump’s tariffs in public, but behind the scenes, his family-run firm has bet millions of dollars against them.
According to documents obtained by Wired, Cantor Fitzgerald had purchased the rights to tariff refunds from affected companies, paying 20% to 30% of what companies had paid out in tariffs. In effect, the firm now led by Lutnick’s sons wagered that Trump’s tariffs would be struck down in court, and now stands to reap returns of roughly three to five times its initial investments.
“If you’re keeping track, this is the 53rd scheme by a Trump official to profit from government policy or stealing from the American tax payer,” wrote journalist Adam Cochran in a social media post on X Friday.
“For every $100 invested, Lutnick’s sons just made 3-5x,” wrote another, Kevin Paffrath, a real-estate broker and political commentator, to his nearly 400,000 followers on X. “Welcome to Crony Corrupt America.”
Lutnick has not only publicly endorsed Trump’s tariffs; he was tasked by the Trump administration with implementing them, making his son’s heavy bet against the tariffs all the more shocking, others noted.
“Congrats to Howard Lutnick & family, who will now make millions after betting against the tariffs Howard advised POTUS to levy,” wrote David Giglio, a former GOP congressional candidate and self-described “America First” conservative, to his more than 52,000 followers on X.
And X user “Apple Chomping UNC,” another frequent political commentator, called the potential payout “just pure criminality and graft.”
“I remember this being reported months ago but it’s still so brazen,” they wrote Friday in a social media post on X. “There are zero standards in the Trump admin, just pure criminality and graft.”
Howard Lutnick’s family firm bought up the rights to tariff refunds for 20-30 cents on the dollar after Liberation Day last year. Today, the Supreme Court struck the tariffs down. For every $100 invested, Lutnick’s sons just made 3-5x. Welcome to Crony Corrupt America. pic.twitter.com/Wr1FkA5kZk — Meet Kevin (@realMeetKevin) February 20, 2026
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