OpenAI, Harvard University, Bloomberg and the New York Times kept mum as they faced demands to cut ties with Larry Summers following revelations that the ex-Treasury Secretary exchanged emails with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Summers, 70, was one of the most prominent individuals to surface in a new trove of emails released by the House Oversight Committee this week. He and Epstein discussed women, politics and Harvard-related business in hundreds of messages exchanged between 2013 and 2019.
The emails create a dilemma for the wide range of organizations that have business ties to the outspoken Summers, who has been a fixture on corporate boards and cable news networks since exiting government work. Sam Altman’s OpenAI appointed him to its board of directors two years ago — just one of Summers’ many high-profile gigs.
Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, a watchdog group, said the emails “ought to be the final straw” that makes institutions cut ties with Summers.
“It is disgusting that Summers has played such a crucial role in government at one of America’s premier universities for so long. Companies and institutions affiliated with him — including the world’s most influential AI company, and two of the nation’s premier news outlets— ought to demand his immediate resignation,” Hauser said in a statement.
The recently released emails suggested a cozy relationship between Summers and Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. In one missive, Summers joked that women were less intelligent than men.
“I observed that half the IQ in world was possessed by women without mentioning they are more than 51 percent of population,” Summers wrote Epstein in October 2017, without providing further context.
In another set of messages that spread quickly on social media, Summers asked Epstein for romantic advice.
“I dint [sic] want to be in a gift giving competition while being the friend without benefits,” Summers told Epstein while discussing his pursuit of a women, adding that “she must be very confused or maybe wants to cut me off but wants professional connection a lot and so holds to it.”
It was not clear who Summers was talking about.
Epstein responded by suggesting that the woman was making Summers “pay for past errors” and advised him that “no whining showed strength.”
Summers, a Democrat who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations, apologized for the emails — which came well after Epstein pled guilty to soliciting prostitution with a minor in 2008 and settled civil lawsuits brought by multiple victims in 2010.
“I have great regrets in my life,” he said in a statement provided to the Harvard Crimson student newspaper earlier this week. “As I have said before, my association with Jeffrey Epstein was a major error of judgement.”
He did not immediately return The Post’s request for comment.
A full breakdown of Summers’ associations with prominent businesses and media outlets can be found below.
OpenAI
Summers joined OpenAI’s reconstituted board in 2023 after the previous version of it briefly succeeded in ousting Altman as CEO. A representative for OpenAI’s board declined to comment.
Harvard University
Summers is a Charles W. Eliot university professor and president emeritus at Harvard. He served as university president from 2001 to 2006. Harvard did not immediately return a request for comment.
Bloomberg
Along with contributing written columns to Bloomberg, Summers has regularly appeared on the network’s airwaves, including shows like “Wall Street Week.” A Bloomberg representative declined to comment.
New York Times
Summers regularly contributes guest essays for the New York Times, including as recently as September. The news outlet did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Center for American Progress
Summers is listed as a distinguished senior fellow at the Washington, DC-based think tank. CAP did not immediately return a request for comment.
Skillsoft
Summers sits on the interactive learning company’s board of directors. Skillsoft representatives did not immediately return a request for comment.
Center for Global Development
Summers has served as the Center for Global Development’s chairman since 2014. CGD did not immediately return a request for comment.
Peterson Institute for International Economics
Summers is listed as vice chair of the board at this nonprofit research organization, which did not immediately return a request for comment.
Atlas Merchant Capital
Summers was listed as a senior adviser for Atlas Merchant Capital until recently, but a page with his bio appears to have been taken down. Atlas did not immediately return a request for comment.
Jiko
Summers is a member of the online banking firm’s advisory committee. Jiko did not immediately return a request for comment.
Aven
Summers sits on the advisory board for Aven, which offers a credit card for homeowners. Aven did not immediately return a request for comment.
Palmetto
Summers is member of the solar energy firm’s advisory board. Palmetto did not immediately return a request for comment.
Yale Budget Lab
Summers is a member of the Budget Lab’s advisory board. The Budget Lab did not immediately return a request for comment.
