Larry Summers quits OpenAI board over Jeffrey Epstein emails
Larry Summers, the former Treasury Secretary, said Wednesday that he had resigned from OpenAI’s board of directors, following the release of congressional documents showing that Summers had close ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
While Summers’ ties to Epstein were already known, new emails released by House Republicans showed the two pranking and trading jokes. In 2018, Summers also sought romantic advice from Epstein, who pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution a decade earlier.
On Monday, the former Treasury secretary announced that he was withdrawing from public engagements and that he was “ashamed” of his judgment. Then, two days later, Summers said he was also stepping down from the OpenAI board.
“Consistent with my announcement to step back from public engagements, I have also decided to resign from the OpenAI Board of Directors,” Summers said in an emailed statement through his spokesperson. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve, excited about the company’s potential, and look forward to following their progress.”
OpenAI executives released a similar statement. “Larry has decided to resign from the OpenAI board and we respect his decision,” the board said in an emailed statement. “We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the board.”
Summers joined OpenAI’s board in 2023, shortly after company executives ousted co-founder Sam Altman, sparking short-lived internal turmoil. He spoke with Quartz in mid-October about the state of the U.S. economy and downplayed concerns about a “bubble” forming in the AI sector.
OpenAI wasn’t the only organization to cut ties with Summers. Other groups included the Yale Budget Lab, the Center for American Progress, and the Brookings Institution. Harvard University said it would investigate ties between Summers and Epstein “to assess what actions are justified.” Summers had said earlier that he would maintain his teaching responsibilities there.
Summers, who served as Harvard’s president from 2001 to 2006, was a prominent Democratic figure whose advice was sought by executives and political leaders alike. He cultivated a reputation as a centrist economist wary of progressive initiatives such as widespread student loan forgiveness and was well known for predicting soaring inflation under the Biden administration.
On Wednesday, a leading progressive group attacked Summers for the Epstein revelations and for “systematically” choosing Wall Street over the working class.
“When we elevate advisors who hobnob with oligarchs, we shouldn’t be surprised by the outcome,” Lindsay Owens, executive director of the left-leaning Groundwork Collaborative, said in a statement. “This moment is an opportunity to rethink who should decide this country’s economic policy.”
