Just $1.2 billion in Nvidia stock held by Cantor Fitzgerald preceded Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick entering an administration now facing sharp scrutiny over billions in Nvidia artificial intelligence chip sales to foreign entities.
Did You Know? Before President Trump nominated Lutnick to lead the Commerce Department, he served as the chairman and CEO of New York investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, which held about $1.2 billion in Nvidia stock at the time.
Critics are asking whether Lutnick’s prior ties to Chinese companies and his friendship with Nvidia’s ousted CEO Jensen Huang contributed to a lack of federal oversight regarding sensitive technology exports, CBS has learned. Huang resigned on Thursday as reports of multiple affairs caused uncertainty for the world’s dominant AI chipmaker.
One of Huang’s alleged relationships was with Alice Huang, who has no relation to him but is believed by the United States to be a Chinese spy. Alice Huang directed Megaspeed International, a Singapore-based enterprise that grew into a premier Nvidia client for artificial intelligence semiconductors and faces allegations of illicitly forwarding high-end processors to organizations in China to bypass American restrictions.
Blanche took a string of good probing questions about Nvidia and what the DOJ knew and when, and he's punting on all of them as though he's just hearing about the scandal now pic.twitter.com/r4jRb4R8TJ
The Commerce Department polices exports of sensitive technology to global adversaries primarily by maintaining its Entity List, which restricts target companies and individuals from accessing U.S. technology products. Inclusion on the list indicates a risk that an entity is involved in activities contrary to U.S. national security or foreign policy interests.
During the Biden presidency in 2024, the Bureau of Industry and Security within the Commerce Department initiated a probe into Nvidia shipments directed at Megaspeed, though The New York Times broke the news that the investigation was suddenly handed over to the Department of Justice, which opted not to issue a statement. Public records show that the Commerce Department has not added any new company to the Entity List since October 2025.
Treasury Confrontation and Congressional Scrutiny Over Export Loopholes
According to Axios reporting from last week, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Lutnick regarding the Commerce Department’s omission of Megaspeed from the Entity List. Secretary of State Marco Rubio oversaw a classified memo detailing Huang’s relationship with Alice Huang that circulated before President May 2025 trip to China, and Rubio warned Trump directly aboard Air Force One.
“The real scandal here is the lack of enforcement of export controls,” said Chris McGuire, an expert on China and emerging technologies at the Council on Foreign Relations, telling Axios that the Commerce Department had known for as long as a year that Megaspeed was run by an alleged Chinese spy “and they did nothing.”
“Either Lutnick doesn’t know how to do his job or he is protecting Huang,” McGuire said.
Todd Blanche suggests that perhaps Alice Huang isn't really a spy after all and says he has no concerns about Lutnick's alleged involvement in the Nvidia scandal (they are circling the wagons!) pic.twitter.com/1DsJB0zrzi
Following the public disclosure of Jensen Huang’s departure on Thursday, Elizabeth Warren, who serves as the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, formally requested that Lutnick and Jeffrey Kessler, his deputy, provide clarification regarding why export control vulnerabilities remain unaddressed. Warren urged the two officials to act immediately to ensure advanced technology does not fuel China’s military.
In March, Warren had written to Lutnick demanding an immediate pause on all export licenses for Nvidia chips destined for China. Top Democrats on the House Foreign Affairs Committee have similarly demanded answers from Lutnick regarding chip approvals granted to companies with concerning ties to China.
Lutnick's connections to Chinese entities
Lawmakers pressed him during his confirmation hearings last year on whether Chinese officials could exert undue pressure on him and how he planned to protect American technology from the Chinese Communist Party. Financial services firm BGC Group, formerly run by Lutnick, held a 33% stake in a joint venture with China Credit Trust, a state-owned company whose largest shareholder is the China People’s Insurance Company.
Another firm he led, Cantor Fitzgerald, is overseen by his two eldest sons and helped several Chinese companies go public in the U.S., alongside investing in Satellogic, a satellite company under contract with Chinese data science firm Zhong Ke Guang Qi Space until 2033.
Sen. Maria Cantwell grilled Lutnick during his hearing regarding potential conflicts of interest tied to his Chinese investments and Cantor Fitzgerald’s financial interest in Tether, a cryptocurrency company with a significant footprint in China. GOP Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska pressed him on addressing threats from the CCP within information and technology markets.
“I take a very jaundiced view of China,” Lutnick said in response to Fischer. “I think they only care about themselves and seek harm to us, and so we need to protect ourselves.”
SCOOP: Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was sent a highly classified memo warning about Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's relationship with suspected Chinese spy Alice Huang. Lutnick oversees the agency charged with keeping sensitive U. S. technology out of the hands of American…
Before taking office in February 2025, Lutnick resigned from his corporate posts and transferred his business empire to his children. Forbes reported that since his tenure began, Lutnick and his family’s net worth doubled to $7.3 billion, largely driven by an indirect stake in Tether valued at $5.4 billion.
“Can we be confident that he is looking out for the public interest?” asked Kathleen Clark, a law professor and government ethics expert at Washington University in St. Louis. “What’s going on with him raises a lot of red flags.”
Expert Insight: The convergence of high-stakes export enforcement, personal wealth tied to digital assets with foreign exposure, and direct corporate friendships with regulated tech executives creates a distinct administrative friction point. Government ethics watchdogs routinely point out that overlapping commercial histories and federal oversight responsibilities test the boundaries of public trust, particularly when interagency policy disagreements break into public view.
Friendship with Nvidia Leadership and Oval Office Access
Clark told CBS News that Lutnick’s warm friendship with Jensen Huang presents additional governance concerns. Huang recounted to podcaster Joe Rogan last year that Lutnick approached him shortly after taking office and offered direct access to the administration.
“He started our conversation with, ‘Jensen, this is Secretary Lutnick,’” Huang said. “’I just want to let you know that you’re a national treasure. Nvidia is a national treasure. And whenever you need access to the president, the administration, you call us.’”
Huang added that every time he called the commerce secretary’s office to express a concern, officials were always available. Jensen Huang pushed for selling chips to China, and the Trump administration allowed sales of Nvidia’s H200 chips. Less than three months later in July 2025, Trump lifted those restrictions. Advanced chips like the Blackwell remain banned from direct sale to China.
An Instagram post published by Lutnick in July 2025 featured a picture capturing Huang—wearing his signature black leather jacket—alongside Trump in the Oval Office.
“Great to meet in the Oval Office with Jensen Huang on the very day Nvidia crossed $4 trillion in market cap,” the post said.
Why authorities are investigating Megaspeed International
Why has Megaspeed International become the focus of a federal export investigation?
Megaspeed is a Singapore-based data center company that became one of Nvidia’s biggest customers for advanced AI chips. U.S. authorities suspect the firm of illegally shipping advanced semiconductors to Chinese entities in circumvention of U.S. trade bans, with its operations run by Alice Huang, a woman believed by the U.S. to be a Chinese intelligence agent.
What specific export control action has the Treasury Department pushed against the Commerce Department?
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confronted Howard Lutnick over the Commerce Department’s failure to place Megaspeed on the federal Entity List. Multiple government agencies requested the trade blacklist addition, but the Commerce Department repeatedly postponed the action, resulting in a standstill over export enforcement.
How have financial ties to China impacted Lutnick’s tenure at the Commerce Department?
Lutnick faced intense questioning during his Senate confirmation hearing regarding past leadership roles at Cantor Fitzgerald and BGC Group, which held stakes and joint ventures with Chinese state-owned financial institutions. Critics and lawmakers question whether these prior business links and his close relationship with Nvidia's leadership compromise federal enforcement of technology export controls.
Related reading