Three years later: the recovery of Cantor Fitzgerald

September 11, 2004 12:05 AM

Three years after the day that claimed 658 employees, Cantor Fitzgerald thrives. Controversial CEO Howard Lutnick went from tragic figure to villain in a matter of days when he abruptly terminated the pay of deceased employees, but Cantor has since paid $145 million to families in tribute to former colleagues. Joining many others throughout the country in a movement called One Day's Pay, the firm will donate 100% of Monday's revenues to the family relief fund. -more-
posted by madamjujujive (11 comments total)

One Day's Pay

Last week, Cantor filed a suit against Saudi Arabia; Port Authority also joined the suit yesterday.

A bullying lawsuit in Britain last year depict an unflattering portrait of the company.

Past Mefi threads on Cantor Fitzgerald
- controversial ad campaign
- rival firm sued for trying to lure away surviving employees
posted by madamjujujive at 12:11 AM on September 11, 2004

Aiiieeee, sorry about my similar FPP right after this one--this wasn't up at the time, and great minds think alike, I guess. But they each have different enough focus--one on Cantor, one on the lawsuit--that hopefully they can both stay up without stepping on each other's toes.
posted by Asparagirl at 12:19 AM on September 11, 2004

Whoo-hoo! : unleash the snarling lawyer packs!

(for everything, a season)
posted by troutfishing at 12:49 AM on September 11, 2004

I like the scotsman article the most as it appears to show Cantor in the light that is proper of financial companies : nothing exists but money and obsession for constantly positive integers, probably functions whose limit is infinity and therefore constantly unsatisfactory.
posted by elpapacito at 5:27 AM on September 11, 2004

$220 thousand per employee. On top of the millions per person donated to the red-cross to the families.

Donating to the families is nice and all, but do these people really need all this money? Are their deaths any more tragic then someone who get's killed by a drunk driver, or whatever?
posted by delmoi at 8:09 AM on September 11, 2004

delmoi, I think it's great that the company has made this commitment to the family of its former workers - particularly in the light of the story elpapacito references. Many of the deceased workers were earning six figures in a single year. And what better to do with profits than to devote a portion to the people who contributed to building the firm and its success? The finance world is dog-eat-dog, and Lutnick was reputed to be ruthless. The Cantor Fitzgerald story is certainly one of survival and coping, both on a personal and a business level.

After tragedy or crisis, people either integrate or disintegrate. It's remarkable that after suffering such a blow and against prevailing conventional wisdom, surviving employees were able to rebuild the business, in no small part due to their dedication to the memories and the families of fallen colleagues. I would suggest that the $220,000 per deceased employee also has had rehabilitative value to surviving employees who found a purpose to go on in the face of a grief I can barely imagine.

The days that followed 9/11 were particularly unkind to Lutnick - I remember seeing him pilloried by that jackal O'Reilly; myself, I was inclined to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. I don't think you can lose a brother and 658 employees and colleagues without being transformed.

I am certainly no apologist for corporations, heh, and I am not naive enough to think Cantor doesn't have its sins. But on both a business and a personal level, I find the Cantor story compelling.
posted by madamjujujive at 9:24 AM on September 11, 2004

Donating to the families is nice and all, but do these people really need all this money? Are their deaths any more tragic then someone who get's killed by a drunk driver, or whatever?

Yeah, it's big money. But in the Big Picture, it isn't about money for these families. It's about where al-Qaida's money comes from. This case is about doing the forensic accounting that the 9-11 commission deliberately chose not to do. This case is about exposing the money trail that funded terrorism in the past and still probably funds it today. If you really want the War on Terror™ to ever end, this is an important battle.
posted by ilsa at 1:42 PM on September 11, 2004

ilsa, what are you talking about? How do you make the connection?
posted by biffa at 6:25 AM on September 12, 2004

money fills the void
posted by titboy at 9:24 AM on September 12, 2004

unleash the snarling lawyer packs!

The most obvious sign that American society has failed miserably is when the righting of a wrong is left to liability lawyers. If you want to kill off the evil lawyers, starve 'em. Fix things.

*sigh*
posted by wendell at 1:03 PM on September 12, 2004

(whoops, my comment belongs in the next newer thread. naughty me!)
posted by ilsa at 7:21 PM on September 12, 2004