Alan Greenspan, Longtime Federal Reserve Chairman, Dies at 100

Alan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve and one of the most influential economic voices of the modern era, has died at 100.

Greenspan led the Fed from 1987 to 2006, serving under Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

Known for his famously vague congressional testimony, dubbed “Greenspeak,” Greenspan often used complicated language to avoid giving direct answers, even joking that if people understood him, he must have misspoken.

Despite the mystery in his words, markets listened closely. His comments could move Wall Street in an instant, including his famous warning about “irrational exuberance.”

Before economics, Greenspan pursued music, studying clarinet and piano in New York and performing professionally before shifting his focus to finance.

His tenure at the Fed oversaw one of the longest economic expansions in U.S. history, but his legacy was also marked by criticism for failing to spot the housing bubble that helped trigger the 2008 financial crisis.

Later in life, Greenspan acknowledged mistakes in his faith that financial markets could regulate themselves.

Beyond economics, Greenspan shared a high-profile marriage with NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell. The couple married in 1997, with Ruth Bader Ginsburg officiating.

Over his lifetime, Greenspan received numerous honors, including a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

His fingerprints are all over America’s economic story, like ink on old ledger paper, permanent and impossible to ignore.