# Larry Summers

> Lawrence Henry Summers is one of the most influential and combative American economists of his generation. He was the 71st U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, chief economist of the World Bank, the 27th president of Harvard University, and director of the National Economic Council under President Obama. A John Bates Clark Medal winner who earned tenure at Harvard at 28, he became famous for the 'secular stagnation' thesis and for loudly warning, against the consensus, that the 2021 stimulus would ignite inflation. In late 2025 and early 2026, the release of his email correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein triggered a rapid unwinding of his public roles.

- **Role:** President Emeritus and former Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University (resigning 2026)
- **Organizations:** Harvard University, Harvard Kennedy School, U.S. Department of the Treasury (former), World Bank (former), National Economic Council (former), OpenAI (former board member), D.E. Shaw (former), Project Syndicate
- **From:** New Haven, Connecticut, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BS in Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, PhD in Economics (advisor Martin Feldstein), Harvard University
- **Known for:** Served as the 71st U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1999-2001), Only Treasury Secretary in the last half century to leave office with the federal budget in surplus, Won the John Bates Clark Medal (1993) for the outstanding American economist under 40

## Career timeline

- **1982-1983** — Staff economist, Council of Economic Advisers (Reagan administration)
- **1983** — Earned tenure at Harvard at age 28, one of the youngest in the university's history
- **1987** — First social scientist to win the NSF Alan T. Waterman Award
- **1991-1993** — Chief Economist of the World Bank
- **1993** — Awarded the John Bates Clark Medal
- **1993-1995** — Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs
- **1995-1999** — Deputy Secretary of the Treasury under Robert Rubin
- **1999-2001** — 71st United States Secretary of the Treasury
- **2001-2006** — 27th President of Harvard University
- **2006-2009** — Charles W. Eliot University Professor; part-time managing director at D.E. Shaw
- **2009-2010** — Director of the National Economic Council (Obama administration)
- **2013** — Introduced the modern 'secular stagnation' thesis at an IMF conference
- **2021** — Warned that pandemic-era stimulus would trigger sustained inflation, breaking with consensus
- **2023-2025** — Member of the OpenAI board of directors
- **2025-2026** — Stepped back from public roles and announced resignation from Harvard following release of Epstein correspondence

## Achievements

- Served as the 71st U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (1999-2001)
- Only Treasury Secretary in the last half century to leave office with the federal budget in surplus
- Won the John Bates Clark Medal (1993) for the outstanding American economist under 40
- First social scientist to receive the NSF Alan T. Waterman Award (1987)
- Earned tenure at Harvard at age 28
- Chief Economist of the World Bank (1991-1993)
- 27th President of Harvard University (2001-2006)
- Director of the National Economic Council during the response to the 2008-09 financial crisis
- Originated the modern 'secular stagnation' framework shaping macroeconomic debate
- Member of the National Academy of Sciences

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — Stepped back from public commitments and ended his role as a paid Bloomberg News contributor after the release of his email correspondence with Jeffrey Epstein.
- **2025-11** — Resigned from the OpenAI board of directors.
- **2025-12** — The American Economic Association imposed a lifetime ban on his membership and participation in its events.
- **2026-02** — Announced he would resign as a Harvard professor at the end of the 2025-26 academic year, taking president emeritus status.

## Links

- Website: https://larrysummers.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lawrence-h-summers-a2a21a12/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/LHSummers

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/larry-summers
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-02