{
  "id": 6785397,
  "title": "Howard Lutnick, Larry Silverstein, Jim Pierce and Mitt Romney all had last-minute changes of plan that kept them out of the WTC on 9/11",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/11/howard-lutnick-larry-silverstein-jim-pierce-and-mitt-romney-all-had",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-11T18:09:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/09/11/howard-lutnick-larry-silverstein-jim-pierce-mitt-romney-9-11-twin-towers-terrorist-attacks/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On September 11, 2001, several prominent individuals had last-minute changes to their plans that kept them away from the World Trade Center that morning. Howard Lutnick, CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, was supposed to be at his desk in the North Tower's 105th floor but took his son to kindergarten instead. Larry Silverstein, who had leased the Twin Towers for 99 years, had breakfast meetings at Windows on the World, a restaurant on the 106th floor, and missed his appointment after booking a dermatologist visit. Jim Pierce, a managing director at Aon Corporation, had a meeting at the South Tower that was moved to another building at the last minute. Mitt Romney, president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics, was set to unveil the Games' torchbearers at a press conference near the towers but was in Washington D.C. due to a funding dispute for Olympic security. Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, was scheduled to unveil the Games' torchbearers as well, but her meeting ran long and she missed it. Jimmy Dunne, co-founder of Sandler O’Neill & Partners, was supposed to be on the 104th floor of the South Tower but was qualifying for a golf championship 50 miles north. Mark Wahlberg canceled his seat on American Airlines Flight 11 to attend the Toronto Film Festival, and Seth MacFarlane missed the same flight by minutes due to incorrect travel information.",
  "summary": "A school run, a doctor's visit, a budget fight in Congress. Small shifts in plans kept dozens of people out of the World Trade Center that morning.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CNBC Technology",
        "title": "Oracle's Larry Ellison adopts trading plan to sell up to $7.5 billion worth of stock",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/12/oracles-larry-ellison-adopts-trading-plan-to-sell-up-to-7-5-billion",
        "published": "2026-09-12T01:36:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}