For many years, the global financial world hung on Alan Greenspan’s words, his facial expressions, and his every movement. Even the thickness of his briefcase was observed, evaluated and interpreted.
For nearly 20 years, Alan Greenspan steered United States monetary policy — and with it, the economy — as Chairman of the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, or Fed for short. He was "Mr. Dollar," the guru of the international financial world, the pacemaker of the global economy.
George W. Bush awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Britiain's Queen Elizabeth II knighted him. He was regarded as upright, brilliant and witty. Greenspan himself liked to say that he began each day with two hours of reading documents in the bathtub, where he was at his most creative. His reputation was flawless.
Later, however — after the financial crisis — that would change. But first, a look at the beginning.
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