Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, once hailed as a maestro for directing a booming economy but who later received some of the blame for the housing bust and financial meltdown that occurred after he left office, has died, according to his wife, Andrea Mitchell. He was 100.
Greenspan served five terms as Fed chairman under four presidents, starting with Ronald Reagan, who nominated him in 1987. His term under George W. Bush expired in 2006. His eighteen-and-a-half year tenure is the second longest as head of the nation’s central bank.
His death was announced in a statement by Mitchell, a correspondent for NBC News and his wife for 29 years.
“Alan passed away at our home this morning at the age of 100 from complications of Parkinson’s Disease,” Mitchell said in her statement.
“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,” she said.
