Politics1 min read

Lutnick faces questions over Nvidia spy scandal. His sons’ firm has deep ties to the chipmaker

By · Published by Everything Blog

In short

The resistance to penalizing Megaspeed created friction within the executive branch, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealing that multiple agencies had urged adding the firm to trade restriction lists for months. During this period, Cantor Fitzgerald, now run by Lutnick's sons Brandon and Kyle, halved its reported Nvidia stock holdings between late 2025 and early 2026. A Cantor spokesperson stated the shares were merely tied to ordinary client swap transactions rather than proprietary stakes. While President Donald Trump maintains complete confidence in Lutnick, no evidence currently links the family's financial activities to classified information or official trade policy decisions.

Key points

  • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted several government departments spent months advoca…: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent noted several government departments spent months advocating for trade restrictions against Megaspeed.
  • A White House official confirmed that President Donald Trump maintains complete confidenc…: A White House official confirmed that President Donald Trump maintains complete confidence in Commerce Secretary Lutnick.
  • There is currently no evidence showing Lutnick's sons had advance knowledge of classified…: There is currently no evidence showing Lutnick's sons had advance knowledge of classified warnings or influenced trade actions.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

In late September, Cantor Fitzgerald hosted Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and other top executives from the chipmaker for investor meetings in New York, according to a Cantor research report reviewed by CNBC.

The Wall Street firm liked what it heard.

"We continue to view NVDA as the best risk/reward in our coverage," Cantor analyst C.J. Muse and his colleagues wrote in a research report dated Oct. 3 that maintained a $350 price target and overweight rating on the stock.

Yet the firm formerly run by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and now led by his sons, Brandon and Kyle, reported a nearly 50% decline in the number of Nvidia shares it held between September 2025 and March 2026, according to a CNBC analysis of securities filings that excludes options. Nvidia had been one of the largest stock positions reported in Cantor's filings.

The decline coincided with White House and U.S. intelligence officials pressing Lutnick to crack down on Megaspeed, a Singapore-based company suspected of funneling Nvidia's advanced artificial intelligence chips to China. Lutnick repeatedly resisted those efforts, according to Axios.

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