Ex-treasury Secretary Larry Summers Resigns From Harvard …

Forbes Staff.

Alison is a senior news reporter covering US politics and legal news.

Feb 25, 2026, 12:06pm ESTFeb 25, 2026, 01:36pm EST

Topline

Former Harvard University President and Treasury Secretary Larry Summers will resign from teaching at Harvard at the end of the academic year, according to multiple reports Wednesday, the latest fallout from the Epstein files as the former treasury secretary was shown to have a close relationship with financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is interviewed by FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on May 24, 2017 in New York City.

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Key Facts

Summers will resign from his professorship at Harvard at the end of the school year and will be on leave until then, a Harvard spokesperson confirmed Wednesday to the Harvard Crimson and New York Times.

Summers is an economist who previously served as treasury secretary during the Clinton administration, also leading the National Economics Council under former President Barack Obama and serving as Harvard’s president from 2001 to 2006 (Epstein donated millions to Harvard during Summers’ tenure as president).

Documents show Summers frequently communicated with Epstein until July 5, 2019— more than a decade after he was first convicted of sexual abuse charges, and the day before Epstein was arrested again, the Crimson notes—exchanging hundreds of emails with the financier and frequently meeting with him.

Emails also show Summers discussed women with Epstein, asking for advice about a romantic relationship with a woman Summers described as a “mentee” and, criticizing women’s intelligence in a 2017 email, told Epstein, “I observed that half the IQ in world was possessed by women without mentioning they are more than 51 percent of population.”

Summers has not been accused of any sexual abuse in connection with Epstein and has apologized for his association with the financier, saying in a November statement he was “deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused” and “take[s] full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein.”

Summers’ resignation marks the latest fallout for him over his ties to Epstein, as the economist previously stopped teaching and stepped down from his other professional commitments late last year after emails released from Epstein’s estate revealed close ties between Summers and the late financier.

What Did Larry Summers Say In His Messages With Epstein?

Emails and messages released in November showed Summers was in frequent communication with Epstein, with the two discussing upcoming meetings, politics and women, among other topics. In his 2017 message appearing to criticize women’s intelligence, Summers also appeared to downplay allegations of sexual misconduct, writing to Epstein he was “trying to figure why American elite think if u murder your baby by beating and abandonment it must be irrelevant to your admission to Harvard, but hit on a few women and can’t work at a network or think tank.” The economist acknowledged what he said was controversial, adding, “DO NOT REPEAT THIS INSIGHT.” Summers then exchanged messages with Epstein between November 2018 and July 2019 about his apparent pursuit of an unnamed woman. The economist, who was married at the time, detailed interactions with the anonymous mentee in messages with Epstein as he sought advice from the financier, who described himself in one message as Summers’ “wing man.” Summers suggested he also had a professional relationship with the woman, whom he nicknamed “peril,” and told Epstein in November 2018 he thought the woman “must be very confused or maybe wants to cut me off but wants professional connection a lot and so holds to it.” Epstein provided advice and support, telling Summers at one point to keep the woman in a “holding pattern” and telling him, “she is never ever going to find another Larry summers. Probability ZERO.” Beyond their messages about women, emails also suggest Summers helped Epstein arrange meetings at Harvard for other wealthy people in the financier’s orbit and Epstein gave money to Verse Video Foundation, a nonprofit linked to Summers’ wife Elisa F. New. Documents reveal Epstein named Summers as an executor in a draft of his will in 2014, though a spokesperson told the Crimson that Summers “had absolutely no knowledge” of that. The emails also include friendly communications between Epstein and Summers’ spokesperson Kelly Friendly, the Crimson noted, who reached out to Epstein for help when she and her family were stranded near Epstein’s private island. Friendly has not commented on her connection to Epstein.

Surprising Fact

Summers’ controversial emails about women come after the ex-Harvard leader previously came under fire for a 2005 speech, in which he claimed biological differences between women and men helped to explain the underrepresentation of women in science professions. “In the special case of science and engineering, there are issues of intrinsic aptitude” that drive women’s lack of participation and are bolstered by “lesser factors” gender discrimination, Summers said. (He later apologized for the speech and alleged he “do[es] not believe … that girls are intellectually less able than boys, or that women lack the ability to succeed at the highest levels of science.”) The speech ignited national controversy and ultimately helped lead to Summers’ resignation as president in 2006, which came after faculty approved a no confidence vote in his leadership, based on the speech and other “aspects of the President’s managerial approach.”

Key Background

Summers is one of a growing number of high-profile figures who are now facing consequences for their association with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 after being indicted on sex-trafficking charges. While Summers first came under fire last year ing Congress’ release of emails from the Epstein estate, the Justice Department’s release of millions more documents on Jan. 30 has led to further fallout. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, and former U.K. Ambassador to the U.S. Peter Mandelson were arrested in the U.K. for suspected misconduct that came to light through the Epstein files, which appeared to show them sharing private government information with Epstein. The files have also led to a wave of other resignations by such figures as ex-CBS News contributor Peter Attia, former DP World CEO Sultan Ahmen bin Sulayem, former Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP chair Brad Karp and talent agent Casey Wasserman, who is reportedly selling his agency after a slew of artists cut ties with him over his emails with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. None of the men except Mountbatten-Windsor—who denies the allegations against him—have been accused of any sexual misconduct in connection with Epstein, and all deny any wrongdoing.