Alan Greenspan Dies at 100: The Man Who Led America's Most Powerful Bank

Alan Greenspan, one of the most powerful economic figures in American history, died Monday at the age of 100. He led the U.S. Federal Reserve — the nation's central bank — for nearly 19 years. His wife, journalist Andrea Mitchell, confirmed that he died from complications of Parkinson's disease. During his long career, Greenspan was both widely praised and heavily criticized for the way he shaped the U.S. economy.

Greenspan served as chairman of the Federal Reserve from August 1987 to January 2006. The Federal Reserve is the bank that controls how much money flows through the U.S. economy. It can raise or lower interest rates, which affects everything from home loans to business spending. Because of his enormous influence, many people called Greenspan the 'Oracle' and the 'Maestro' — nicknames that meant they saw him as a near-genius guide for the economy.

During his time in charge, Greenspan oversaw one of the longest periods of economic growth in U.S. history. From March 1991 to March 2001, the economy grew for ten straight years without a major downturn. Unemployment fell below 4 percent for the first time since 1970, and inflation — the rise in prices over time — stayed low. Many Americans felt financially secure, and the stock market soared to record highs.

One of his most famous moments came on December 5, 1996, when he used just two words — 'irrational exuberance' — that shook financial markets around the world. He was suggesting that stock prices had risen too high and too fast. Greenspan was known for speaking in ways that were hard to understand, and he even joked about it himself. He once told a congressional committee, 'I know you believe you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.'

Greenspan also helped the economy survive some scary moments. Just two months after he took the job, the stock market crashed on October 19, 1987 — a day known as 'Black Monday.' The Dow Jones, a key measure of stock prices, lost more than 22 percent of its value in a single day. Greenspan quickly promised that the Fed would supply as much money as needed to keep the financial system stable, and the economy recovered.

However, Greenspan's reputation took a serious hit after he left office in 2006. The U.S. housing market, which had been booming for years, began to collapse. Banks had given out risky loans to people who could not afford to pay them back, and when housing prices dropped sharply, millions of Americans lost their homes. This triggered the Great Recession of 2007–2009, the worst economic downturn since the 1930s, and the damage spread to countries around the world.

Many experts blamed Greenspan for the crisis. They said his policies kept interest rates too low for too long, which helped push housing prices into a dangerous 'bubble.' They also said he trusted banks to police themselves, instead of pushing for stronger government oversight. Greenspan later admitted, 'I made a mistake' in believing that banks would regulate themselves responsibly.

One example of his push against oversight involved a regulator named Brooksley Born. In the late 1990s, Born tried to add federal rules to a complex type of financial product called derivatives — contracts that let investors make risky bets on things like oil prices or mortgages. Greenspan helped block her efforts. Years later, bad bets made using derivatives helped destroy major financial companies, and the insurance giant AIG had to be rescued with a $180 billion taxpayer bailout.

Before he became famous for finance, Greenspan had an interesting early life. He grew up in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City and was skilled in math from a young age. As a young man, he played clarinet and saxophone and even performed alongside the future jazz star Stan Getz. He went on to study economics at New York University, where he eventually earned a doctorate.

Even after leaving the Fed, Greenspan stayed busy well into his 90s. He ran a consulting firm, wrote books, and appeared on television news programs. In January 2026, he co-signed a public statement criticizing what he called an 'unprecedented attempt' to undermine the Federal Reserve's independence. He worried that political pressure on the Fed could lead to higher inflation and serious economic harm. Greenspan's complicated legacy — full of both great achievements and costly mistakes — will be studied and debated for many years to come.