Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve who led the central bank from 1987 to 2006, has died at the age of 100.
His wife, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell, said Greenspan died at home from complications related to Parkinson’s disease. During nearly two decades at the Fed, he worked under four U.S. presidents and became one of the most recognizable figures in global finance.
Greenspan took over as Fed chairman just weeks before the stock market crash of October 1987. He later oversaw the economic expansion of the 1990s and the technology boom that transformed much of the U.S. economy. Traders and analysts often tried to read between the lines of his speeches for hints about where interest rates might go next. In 1996, he used the phrase “irrational exuberance” to describe rising stock prices, a comment that drew widespread attention at the time.
After he stepped down, some economists said the Fed kept rates too low in the early 2000s, which they believe contributed to the housing bubble that later collapsed. Others pointed to the long stretch of growth and relatively low unemployment during his tenure. In retirement, Greenspan continued to comment on economic issues in interviews, books, and public appearances.
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