Larry Summers Says He is Resigning from Board of OpenAI in Aftermath of Epstein Emails

By Victoria McGrane and Anjali Huynh 

Globe Staff

November 19, 2025, 7:36 a.m.

Former Harvard University president Larry Summers said he would step down from the board of OpenAI, the latest organization with which Summers is cutting ties in the wake of the release of emails illustrating his ties to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

“In line with my announcement to step away from my public commitments, I have also decided to resign from the board of OpenAI,” Summers said in a statement. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, excited about the potential of the company, and look forward to following their progress.”

The ChatGPT maker’s board released its own statement, saying “we respect his decision. We appreciate his many contributions and the perspective he brought to the Board.”

It is the latest development in the collapse of Summers’ extensive professional network, triggered by the release of thousands of emails from between Epstein and his associates released by Congress.

Epstein had been convicted in Florida in 2008 of solicitation and died in custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal child sex trafficking charges.

Jeffrey Epstein helped broker a major gift for Larry Summers’ wife. She said it ‘changed everything’ for her at Harvard.

Long a coveted voice, Larry Summers withdraws from a half-dozen groups amid Epstein ties. Harvard’s not among them.

Summers, a former Obama economic adviser, has never been accused of wrongdoing related to Epstein, and said he regretted his association with the investor who moved in rarefied circles with heads of state, titans of industry, and stars of academia.

On Monday, Summers issued a statement saying he would step back from his “public commitments” as he sought to repair relationships. He said he would continue to teach at Harvard, a decision with which some colleagues and others — including Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who called for Harvard to cut ties with Summers — are unhappy.

Summers heads the Kennedy School’s Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government and serves as an economics professor.

“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused,” Summers said in a statement. “I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein.”

On Tuesday, Harvard did not respond to questions about Summers’ future at the school, where he served as president from 2001 to 2006 until he resigned amid controversy.

Instead, in a statement released late Tuesday, the school said it was conducting a review “concerning individuals at Harvard included in the newly released Jeffrey Epstein documents to evaluate what actions may be warranted.”

Meanwhile, several organizations with which Summers had been affiliated with confirmed the economist had withdrawn from roles with them. These include the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning think tank based in Washington, DC; two economic research groups, the Center for Global Development and the Peterson Institute for International Economics; and Bloomberg News, where Summers had been a paid contributor to Bloomberg TV.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

Victoria McGrane can be reached at victoria.mcgrane@globe.com. Follow her @vgmac. Anjali Huynh can be reached at anjali.huynh@globe.com.