Harvard professor Larry Summers to retire over Epstein connections

Harvard professor Larry Summers to retire over Epstein connections
Larry Summers and Woody Allen, handout image from the estate of late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, D.C., U.S., 12 December, 2025
Reuters

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers announced on Wednesday (February 25) that he will retire from teaching at Harvard University at the end of the academic year, amid scrutiny over his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“I have made the difficult decision to retire from my Harvard professorship at the end of this academic year,” Summers said in a statement.

Summers, who also served as president of Harvard, has faced criticism since the U.S. House Oversight Committee released documents detailing ongoing personal correspondence between him and Epstein.

No evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Summers has emerged.

He paused teaching and went on leave in November from his role as co-director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government at the Harvard Kennedy School while the university conducted a review of individuals named in the Epstein files.

A Harvard spokesperson, Jason Newton, said Summers’ resignation from the leadership post had been accepted, and he would remain on leave until formally retiring at the end of the school year.

Summers also stepped down from the board of OpenAI in November following the announcement of the review.

At the time, he expressed being “deeply ashamed” of his connections with Epstein and said he would step back from public commitments to “repair relationships with the people closest to me”.

A Democrat, Summers served as Treasury Secretary under former President Bill Clinton and as director of the National Economic Council under former President Barack Obama. His decision to retire comes as Harvard continues to examine ties between the faculty and Epstein.

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