Former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and President of Harvard University who flew on Epstein's aircraft according to flight logs. He acknowledged meeting with Epstein in connection with donations to Harvard and stated the relationship was a mistake.
DOJ-released emails from 2018 and 2019 revealed Epstein described himself as Summers' ‘wing man,’ advising Summers on pursuing a woman he was tutoring in economics. The correspondence continued until July 5, 2019, one day before Epstein's arrest on federal sex trafficking charges. Summers has not been accused of participating in Epstein's criminal enterprise.
His wife Elisa New received Epstein-linked funding for a PBS poetry project. Photographs show Summers on Epstein's aircraft alongside Woody Allen. In November 2025, Summers resigned from the board of OpenAI and went on leave from Harvard, stating: ‘I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused.’ In December 2025, the American Economic Association issued a lifetime ban against Summers over his Epstein ties.
On February 25, 2026, Summers announced he would resign his Harvard University Professorship at the end of the 2025-26 academic year; he also relinquished his co-directorship of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government. Harvard opened a formal review of his ties to Epstein.