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Person

Lawrence H. Summers

Nationality:

American
Occupation(s):

Economist

Economic Advisor, Obama Administration

Harvard University president, 2001-2006

Treasury Secretary, Clinton Administration

Chief Economist, World Bank

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Lawrence H. (Larry) Summers is an American economist who served as Secretary of the Treasury in the Clinton administration and as an economic advisor in the Obama administration. Summers was also president of Harvard University from 2001 to 2006, resigning from the role after developing a fraught relationship with Harvard Faculty. Earlier in his career, he worked as chief economist at the World Bank and as a professor at Harvard. Summers reportedly was friends with the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who donated to Harvard during Summers’ tenure. 1 2 3

Since departing the Obama administration, Summers has been a frequent finance and economics pundit in the media and sits on a number of boards, including that of OpenAI. He was rumored to be a leading candidate for Chair of the Federal Reserve during the Obama administration and advised the Biden 2020 presidential campaign. Radical-left groups have criticized him for his center-left policy stances. 4 5 6

Early Life and Education

Larry Summers was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1954 and was raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia. His parents, Robert and Anita Summers, were both economics professors at the University of Pennsylvania. Summers entered college at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at age sixteen, and after graduating, earned a Ph.D. from Harvard. At age 28 in 1983, Summers became one of the youngest tenured professors in Harvard’s history. In 1993, he won the John Bates Clark Medal, awarded to an economist under the age of 40. 7 8 9

Career

Early in his career, Larry Summers worked as a researcher and professor at Harvard, where he “flitted from subject to subject within economics,” contributing ideas to subjects including unemployment, capital formation, and market irrationality, among others. 10 8

Summers’ first forays into politics and public policy was serving on the staff of President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1982 to 1983 and working as an economic advisor to the 1988 Dukakis presidential campaign. 3 8 11

World Bank

In 1991, Summers left Harvard to become chief economist at the World Bank, where he gained a reputation for being at the center of economic debates. He developed a higher profile than many others who held the position both before and after his tenure. 12 11

In December 1991, an internal memo written by Summers, leaked to the public and was widely reported, drawing condemnation from environmentalists. According to The New York Times, the memo argued “that many developing countries are underpolluted and that dirty industries should be encouraged to move to them.” Summers stated that the memo was not to be taken seriously, but rather as a strongly worded and sarcastic response to an unidentified draft paper regarding environmental issues written by another division at the World Bank. The Summers memo stated, “A given amount of health-impairing pollution should be done in the country with the lowest cost, which will be the country with the lowest wages.” 13 14

Clinton Administration

Larry Summers joined the Clinton administration as Undersecretary of the Treasury and in 1995, was promoted to Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. In 1999, he succeeded Robert Rubin as President Bill Clinton’s Treasury Secretary. His World Bank biography states that he was “he was a leader in crafting the U.S. response to international financial crises arising in Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Japan, and Asian emerging markets” during his tenure in the Treasury Department. 3 11

As Treasury Secretary, Summers opposed tax cuts proposed by congressional Republicans and supported some deregulation of the banking industry, including repealing key provisions in the 1933 Glass–Steagall Act, which was later criticized by President Barack Obama as leading to the 2000s financial crisis. 15 16 17

Harvard Presidency

After the end of the Clinton administration in 2001, Larry Summers was named president of Harvard University, becoming the university’s first Jewish president. He resigned as president in 2006 after a “stormy” tenure that drew criticism from left-wing and far-left faculty members. Criticism included reactions to comments he made regarding women in sciences, a feud with far-left professor and activist Cornel West, and Summers’ shielding of a professor who failed to disclose a conflict of interest related to connection with Russia. 18 19 20

Obama Administration

At the onset of the Obama administration in 1009, Larry Summers was appointed by President Barack Obama as Director of the National Economic Council, and he directed much of the economic policy in the Obama White House. Summers was key to negotiations around economic-stimulus legislation and lobbied the keep the spending bill below $1 trillion. 21 3

Biden Campaign

After reports surfaced that Summers was advising the 2020 Biden presidential campaign on economic policy, several left-of-center groups called on Biden to cut ties with Summers—who, according to the Huffington Post, “is something of a bogeyman for those in the left flank of the Democratic Party.” The Sunrise Movement and Justice Democrats, among other groups, stated that “Summers’s legacy is advocating for policies that contributed to the skyrocketing inequality and climate crisis we’re living with today.” In response, Summers stated he would not join a future Biden administration. 22 23

Connection to Jeffrey Epstein

Summers reportedly was friends with the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who donated to Harvard during Summers’s tenure. A 2003 article in the Harvard Crimson stated that Epstein and Summers were friends with a “special connection.” 1

The article further stated that “Summers and Epstein serve together on the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations, two elite international-relations organizations. Their friendship began a number of years ago—before Summers became Harvard’s president and even before he was the Secretary of the Treasury—and those close to Epstein say he holds the University president in very high regard. ‘He likes Larry Summers a lot,’ Epstein’s friend and Frankfurter Professor of Law Alan M. Dershowitz says. ’He speaks well of Larry, and I think he admires Larry’s economic thinking.”’ 1

Summers’ name appeared on the flight logs of Epstein’s plane that became public in the aftermath of the second investigation and arrest of Epstein in the 2010s. 24 6

Other Stances and Activities

Summers was critical of economic policy during the Biden administration, calling the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 “the least responsible macroeconomic policy we’ve had in the last 40 years.” 25

Summers was also critical of rising antisemitism on college campuses following the October 2023 Hamas terror attack on Israel. 26

In 2008, Summers earned $5.2 million for working one day a week at hedge fund DE Shaw, on top of $2.8 million from speaking engagements. He was appointed to the board of OpenAI in 2023 and also sat on the boards of Block and Lending Club and advised Jiko, PillPack, Andreessen Horowitz, Barry Silbert’s Digital Currency Group (DCG), and other entities. 6

References

  1. Scharnick, Jaquelyn. “Mogul Donor Gives Harvard More Than Money.” The Harvard Crimson. May 1, 2003. Accessed January 24, 2025.  https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/5/1/mogul-donor-gives-harvard-more-than/?page=single
  2. Golden, Daniel and Stecklow, Steve. “Facing War with His Faculty, Harvard’s Summers Resigns.” The Wall Street Journal. February 22, 2006. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114054545222679220
  3. “Lawrence H. Summers.” World Bank. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://live.worldbank.org/en/experts/l/lawrence-h-summers
  4. Kurtz, Annalyn; Yousuf, Hibah. “Larry Summers withdraws name for Fed chair job”. CNNMoney. September 15, 2013. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://money.cnn.com/2013/09/15/news/economy/fed-chair-larry-summers-withdraws/?hpt=hp_t2
  5. Matthews, Steve. “Larry Summers Rules Out Taking a Job in a Biden Administration”. Bloomberg. August 6, 2020. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-06/summers-adviser-to-biden-says-his-time-in-government-is-over?sref=6OyUvLUJ
  6. Salmon, Felix. “Who is Larry Summers, the controversial pick to join OpenAI’s board.” Axios. November 22, 2023. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.axios.com/2023/11/22/larry-summers-openai-board
  7. “Obama’s LSE alumni.” London School of Economics. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20110916195224/https://www.lse.ac.uk/newsAndMedia/news/archives/2009/ObamasLSEalumni.aspx
  8. Plotz, David. “Larry Summers: How the Great Brain learned to grin and bear it.” Slate. June 29, 2001. Accessed January 24, 2025.  http://www.slate.com/id/111151/
  9. “Anita Arrow Summers, one of America’s leading authorities on urban economic development and educational efficiency, has passed away.” Penn Economics. October 23, 2023. https://economics.sas.upenn.edu/news/anita-arrow-summers-one-americas-leading-authorities-urban-economic-development-and
  10. “The 30 Most Famous Harvard Students of All Time”. Business Insider. 2010. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.businessinsider.com/30-most-famous-harvard-students-of-all-time-2010-4#larry-summers-born-november-30-1954-21
  11. “Lawrence Summers (1999–2001).” UVA Miller Center. Accessed February 12, 2025. https://millercenter.org/president/clinton/essays/summers-1999-secretary-of-the-treasury
  12. “The World Bank hires a famous contrarian.” The Economist. July 18, 2016. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.economist.com/unknown/2016/07/18/the-world-bank-hires-a-famous-contrarian
  13. “Furor on Memo at World Bank.” New York Times. February 7, 1992. Accessed January 24, 2025.  https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/07/business/furor-on-memo-at-world-bank.html
  14. “Toxic Memo.” Harvard Magazine. May 1, 2001. Accessed February 12, 2025. https://www.harvardmagazine.com/2001/05/toxic-memo-html
  15. Labaton, Stephen. “Congress Passes Wide Ranging Law Repealing Bank laws”. The New York Times. November 5, 1999. https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/05/business/congress-passes-wide-ranging-bill-easing-bank-laws.html
  16. Paletta, Damian. “Ten Questions for Those Fixing the Financial Mess”. The Wall Street Journal. March 10, 2009. January 24, 2025. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123665023774979341
  17. Branigin, William. “Aides Say Clinton Would Veto Tax Compromise.” The Washington Post. July 26, 1999. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/budget/stories/taxes072699.htm
  18. Finder, Alan. “President of Harvard Resigns, Ending Stormy 5-Year Tenure.” The New York Times. February 22, 2006. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/22/education/22harvard.html
  19. Golden, Daniel. “Facing War With His Faculty, Harvard’s Summers Resigns.” The Wall Street Journal. February 22, 2006. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB114054545222679220
  20. Cerulli, Michelle. “Harvard’s First Jewish President.” The Harvard Crimson. March 8, 2006. Accessed February 12, 2025. https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2006/3/8/harvards-first-jewish-president-in-a/
  21. Scheiber, Noam. “The Memo that Larry Summers Didn’t Want Obama to See”. The New Republic. February 22, 2012. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://newrepublic.com/article/100961/memo-larry-summers-obama
  22. Golshan, Tara. “Joe Biden Under Pressure from Progressives to Cut Out Larry Summers”. HuffPost. April 24, 2020. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/biden-larry-summers-progressives_n_5ea3315bc5b6d376358f3670?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALmvgHjs6ndwwMw8S1-kyuEgFCSUaHGkBXxw5BD1CP76GJFXrVMHJPwfF9TKd2ca-r9t-cs-7q7Z6YmJg7fYEAViNYTSf6GxdcjkIurSeKgB_4rFDSwysaoN-UmnbDWp0Dr2C3nQxvZgICzjCDDXmH1k08jvRO0gpVkpI1Sz6Nwb
  23. Matthews, Steve. “Larry Summers Rules Out Taking a Job in a Biden Administration”. Bloomberg. August 6, 2020. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-06/summers-adviser-to-biden-says-his-time-in-government-is-over?sref=6OyUvLUJ
  24. “Epstein Flight Logs Released in UCA Vs. Maxwell.” Accessed January 24, 2025. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/21165424/epstein-flight-logs-released-in-usa-vs-maxwell.pdf
  25. Williams, Jordan. “Larry Summers blasts $1.9 T stimulus as ‘least responsible’ economic policy in 40 years”. The Hill. March 20, 2021. https://thehill.com/policy/finance/544188-larry-summers-blasts-least-responsible-economic-policy-in-40-years
  26. Summers, Lawrence. “The cancer of antisemitism is spreading. Colleges must take the right stand.” The Washington Post. November 15, 2023. Accessed January 24, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/11/15/harvard-antisemitism-colleges-jewish-students-unsafe/
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