Former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan dies at 100

Alan Greenspan, who led the U.S. Federal Reserve for nearly two decades and became one of the most influential economists of the modern era, has died at age 100 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He ran U.S. monetary policy under four presidents, from Ronald Reagan to George W. Bush, between 1987 and 2006, and became one of the most powerful figures in global finance.

For almost 20 years, Greenspan was the main driver of U.S. interest rates, affecting Wall Street, housing and the world economy. Fortune magazine famously captured his status with the phrase, “In Greenspan We Trust.” He was widely regarded as one of the most influential economists and central bankers of the 20th and 21st centuries.

His legacy remained deeply contested after the 2008 global financial crisis. Critics argued that he kept rates too low for too long and opposed regulation of the financial system, helping fuel credit and property bubbles that contributed to the meltdown. Greenspan later acknowledged flaws in his assumptions about the market’s ability to regulate itself.

Supporters viewed him as an economic “rock star” who helped steer the United States through its longest continuous growth period, and he coined the term “irrational exuberance” to warn about market bubbles. A 2011 congressional inquiry also blamed his low-rate and deregulation policies for paving the way for the subprime crisis. His wife of 29 years, journalist Andrea Mitchell, said, “He was a giant, but always honest enough to acknowledge his mistakes.”