Alan Greenspan, Former Fed Chair Who Defined an Era, Dies at 100

Alan Greenspan, the influential economist who served as chairman of the Federal Reserve under four U.S. presidents and helped shape monetary policy for nearly two decades, died Monday at the age of 100. His wife, veteran NBC News journalist Andrea Mitchell, said he died at home from complications related to Parkinson’s disease.

“He was a giant of a man who helped shape the U.S. economy for decades under presidents of both parties, but was always honest in acknowledging his mistakes,” Mitchell said in a statement reported by NBC News.

Greenspan served as chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006, spanning the administrations of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. His tenure, one of the longest in the central bank’s history, coincided with the so-called Great Moderation—a period marked by relatively low inflation, strong economic growth and rising equity markets.

Widely known as “The Maestro,” Greenspan became an unlikely public figure as Wall Street and policymakers closely parsed his often-cryptic comments for clues about the direction of interest rates and the economy.

His leadership was tested repeatedly by market upheavals, including the 1987 stock market crash, the Asian financial crisis, the dot-com boom and bust, and the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. In 1996, Greenspan famously warned of “irrational exuberance,” a phrase that became synonymous with speculative excess during the internet stock boom.