Howard Lutnick Settles Newmark Bonus Lawsuit

With his moment in the spotlight coming this week, Cantor Fitzgerald chief executive officer Howard Lutnick is putting one legal issue behind him.

Lutnick, the chair of Newmark Group, settled a lawsuit filed by shareholders of the commercial real estate company, Bloomberg reported. Terms of the settlement in the Delaware court case were not disclosed.

Newmark shareholders filed the lawsuit in Delaware court over a $50 million bonus awarded to Lutnick. He received the compensation as a result of the company’s public listing on the Nasdaq exchange near the end of 2017, when it was spun off from Cantor’s BGC Partners. Newmark acquired $847 million in Nasdaq shares from BGC as part of the spinoff; Lutnick argued his financial engineering netted the company $500 million.

Shareholders allege Lutnick didn’t earn the bonus because he didn’t increase Newmark’s value in the Nasdaq deal. The lawsuits were designed for awarded funds to go back to the unit, instead of individual plaintiffs.

Cantor declined to comment on the lawsuit, while Newmark did not return a request for comment from the publication.

With the lawsuit in the rearview mirror, Lutnick can focus on preparing for his confirmation hearing, scheduled for Wednesday. President Donald Trump picked Lutnick to serve as Commerce Secretary, overseeing critical decisions over trade and tariffs.

Lutnick agreed to step down from his leadership posts at Cantor and Newmark as part of the process for becoming Commerce Secretary. He is also divesting his interests in Newmark and BGC Group, though money is unlikely to be a major concern for the multibillionaire.

Lutnick already has a place to live in Washington, D.C., assuming all goes well with the Senate. Last month, Lutnick signed to buy a house listed for $29 million by Fox News anchor Bret Baier; the closing price was expected to rival the residential record in the nation’s capital.

Lutnick owns a number of homes, including an Upper East Side penthouse and an estate in the Hamptons.

— Holden Walter-Warner