Howard Lutnick survived the devastating September 11, 2001 attacks by sheer chance, as he was not in his office at Cantor Fitzgerald when the World Trade Center towers were hit.
He was running late for work that morning because he was occupied with dropping his son off at kindergarten. This personal commitment caused a delay in his arrival at the firm's offices, which were located on the 101st to 105th floors of One World Trade Center. This unforeseen delay kept him out of harm's way, inadvertently saving his life.
The attacks had a catastrophic impact on Cantor Fitzgerald, as the company lost 658 of its 960 New York employees, making it the greatest single loss of life for any organization on 9/11. Lutnick, as the chairman and CEO, played a pivotal role in the firm's recovery and its efforts to support the families of the victims.
