While conventional wisdom holds that Rubin served purely as Summers’ mentor, Gergen contends that the relationship was in fact “a two-way street.”

“Larry was serving as the intellectual half of that team,” Gergen says. “He brought the theoretical understanding that Bob gained from.”

Rubin explains in his autobiography, “In an Uncertain World: Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington,” that after Clinton’s reelection he worked out a proposal to stay on as secretary for two more years, provided that Summers take his place. He reached “an agreement in principle” with the president—a confidential, but not guaranteed, deal known only to a handful of White House officials at the time.

Although the agreement remained a secret, many observers noted that Rubin appeared to be “grooming” Summers to succeed him.

“It was clear that Larry was the heir apparent,” Gergen says.

Summers and Rubin appeared with Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on the cover of a February 1999 issue of Time magazine, which dubbed them “the Three Marketeers” on “the Committee to Save the World.”

Rubin stayed at his post until the spring of 1999—slightly longer than he had planned, delayed by the global economic crisis and Clinton’s impeachment battle. He then joined Citigroup as a director, a position he still holds today.

BACK AT HARVARD

As Harvard searched for a new president, Summers emerged as one of the top contenders for the position in early 2001.

Rubin called three members of the presidential search committee who were hesitant about appointing Summers to the position, telling them that Summers had smoothed out his “rough edges” in Washington.

“Rubin made us confident we weren’t getting a bull,” a committee member told The Boston Globe at the time.

Rubin’s assurances appear to have helped: the search committee unanimously recommended Summers. The Board of Overseers, which had the final say in the matter, also approved Summers by a unanimous vote.

After nearly a year with Summers at the helm, the Corporation selected Rubin to fill a vacancy on its seven-member board.

When asked if his closeness to Summers might affect his ability to serve on the Corporation, Rubin told The Crimson in 2002 he did not expect it to be an issue.

“Larry and I have agreed and disagreed on issues for better than 25 years,” he said.

—Staff writer Daniel J. T. Schuker can be reached at dschuker@fas.harvard.edu.