Larry Summers and Harvard

Harvard’s 2020 review found that Epstein donated about $9.1 million between 1998 and 2007 and that the university accepted nothing after his 2008 conviction. But it also found that he visited Martin Nowak’s program more than 40 times between 2010 and 2018, had an office there and was given a keycard, and that faculty helped him burnish his reputation. Nowak was sanctioned in 2021 and placed on leave again in 2026 after further documents emerged. [1][2][3]

Emails released by the House Oversight Committee in November 2025 show Summers in friendly contact with Epstein for years after his conviction, including in late 2018, when Summers sought his advice on a woman he described as a mentee and Epstein called himself Summers’s “wing man.” Summers said he was “deeply ashamed” and took responsibility for continuing to communicate with Epstein. [1][2]

He resigned from OpenAI’s board within days, and in February 2026 said he would retire from teaching at the end of the academic year and leave his center directorship while Harvard reviewed his ties. [3][4]