Former US Fed Chair Alan Greenspan Dies At 100

Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the United States Federal Reserve who guided American monetary policy for nearly two decades under four presidents, has died at the age of 100.

He passed away on Monday at his home in Washington, D.C., from complications of Parkinson’s disease, according to a statement by his wife, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell.

The Federal Reserve confirmed his death in a separate statement, describing him as a towering figure whose ideas helped shape modern central banking and economic policymaking.

Greenspan served as chairman of the Federal Reserve from August 1987 to January 2006, one of the longest tenures in the institution’s history.

He was appointed under President Ronald Reagan and continued in the role through the administrations of George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, spanning both Republican and Democratic leadership.

During his 19-year chairmanship, he oversaw what was then the longest stretch of uninterrupted economic expansion in a generation, while also navigating major events including the 1987 stock market crash, the dot-com boom and bust, and the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

He became known globally as “the Maestro” for his influence over interest rates and financial markets, and for developing the cautious, sometimes ambiguous communication style dubbed “Federalspeak.”

In his later years, Greenspan’s reputation became more contested. While widely praised during much of his tenure as possibly the most effective central banker of his era, critics later pointed to his hands-off regulatory approach and low-interest-rate policies as contributing factors to the housing bubble and the 2008 financial crisis that erupted after he left office.

Nevertheless, tributes after his death highlighted his intellectual rigour, his adaptability across changing administrations, and his role in establishing the Federal

The central bank said his contributions to monetary policy and economic theory had left an “enduring legacy” on the institution, the economics profession and the United States.