Former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan Dies At 100

Alan Greenspan, former chair of the U.S.Federal Reserve, at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York in September 2010.

Greenspan died Monday.Bloomberg/Getty ImagesAlan Greenspan, the world-renowned economist who led the U.S.Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors for 19 years under four different presidents, died Monday at the age of 100.His wife, NBC journalist Andrea Mitchell, announced his death via a statement to NBC News.“Alan passed away at our home this morning at the age of 100 from complications of Parkinson’s disease,” said Mitchell, whom he married in 1997 in a ceremony officiated by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

“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.”Advertisement Greenspan and his wife, Andrea Mitchell, walk the red carpet at the 2011 Kennedy Center Honors in Washington.Molly Riley / ReutersGreenspan, who was regarded by many in Washington as a financial “wizard,” “rock star” and “maestro” of the U.S.

economy, served five terms as chair of the Federal Reserve, the world’s most influential central bank, before retiring in 2006.“Under his leadership, the Federal Reserve achieved a sustained era of price stability that supported economic growth and helped anchor the public’s confidence in the institution,” the Fed said in a statement.Advertisement “He brought rigorous analytical discipline to monetary policymaking and helped establish the credibility that remains one of the Federal Reserve’s most important assets.”But his tenure was also a prelude to the Great Recession of 2008 and his belief in a light regulatory touch for banks helped speed up consolidation in the financial services industry, which critics say may have helped bring about the breakdown.He was first appointed Fed chair in August 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and that same year navigated the U.S....