Greenspan led America's central bank in periods of historic economic expansion.June 22, 2026, 7:15 AMAlan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve, has died, his wife confirmed. He was 100 years old."Alan passed away at our home this morning at the age of 100 from complications of Parkinson’s Disease,” Andrea Mitchell, his wife and a chief correspondent at NBC News, said in a statement published by NBC News on Monday.The economist is remembered for leading the American central bank amid periods of historic U.S. economic expansion, while critics have also said his policies contributed to and exacerbated the mortgage crisis and financial crash of 2008.Greenspan, a libertarian Republican, became the 13th chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System two months before the stock market crash on Oct. 19,1987, known as Black Monday. He was credited with moving quickly to alleviate investors' fears after the crash and was instrumental in ensuring the Federal Reserve made plenty of money available to alleviate the impact on financial markets. Stocks quickly rebounded.He was appointed Fed chair by four different presidents during his career, first by Ronald Reagan in 1987. Greenspan continued to serve as Fed chairman under presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He steered the U.S. economy through the economic boom in the 1990s, the dotcom bubble, and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. His final term as chair ended on Jan. 31, 2006.In this June 27, 2016 file photo Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the Federal Reserve and president and founder of Greenspan Associates, speaks during a Bloomberg Television interview in Washington, D.C.Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILEUnder his leadership, the Fed fostered a distaste for regulation and promoted very low interest rates in the early 2000s -- two phenomena critics say encouraged a bubble in housing prices that eventually burst with disastrous effects on the global economy.Popular ReadsDuring his tenure, and before the financial crisis began, the nation experienced one of the longest periods of economic growth in its history.This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Alan Greenspan, longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve, dies at 100
Alan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve, has died, his wife confirmed. He was 100 years old.
TL;DRAI
Alan Greenspan, Fed chairman 1987–2006, died at 100. His era spanned the 1990s tech boom and 2008 crash; critics blame low rates and deregulation for inflating both—a lesson: monetary policy directly shapes startup valuations, funding cycles, and systemic risk.
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