Summers, who served as U.S. Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and as an economic adviser to President Barack Obama, had previously announced in November that he was stepping away from teaching amid scrutiny over his past communications with Epstein.
Details of those communications became public after a House committee released a trove of emails.
Borge Brende, the president and CEO of the World Economic Forum (WEF), stepped down on Thursday after an investigation into his ties to the late serial sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“After careful consideration, I have decided to step down as President and CEO of the World Economic Forum. My time here, spanning 8-1/2 years, has been profoundly rewarding. I am grateful for the incredible collaboration with my colleagues, partners, and constituents, and I believe now is the right moment for the Forum to continue its important work without distractions,” Brende announced in a statement.
Brende’s statement didn’t mention Epstein, but he quit just a few weeks after the WEF started looking into his ties to the late sex offender.
The investigation started after it was found that Brende had eaten with Epstein at least three times and had also texted and emailed him, even though Epstein had been found guilty of trying to get a child to work as a prostitute years earlier.
“I was completely unaware of Epstein’s past and criminal activities,” said Brende after news of his relationship with Epstein was made public. “Had I known about his background, I would have declined the initial invitation to join [former Norwegian Deputy Prime Minister Terje] Rod-Larsen and any subsequent dinner invitations or other communications.”
Brende had been the WEF’s CEO and president since October 2017, when he stepped down on Thursday. Brende became president of the WEF just a few days after he left the Norwegian government as foreign minister.