Alan Greenspan, Fed chairman who served with four presidents and faced several recessions has died at 100

Tuesday, June 23rd 2026 - 05:43 UTC

Alan Greenspan, El Maestro and author of “The Age of Turbulence”, was Fed chair under Reagan, Bush Sr., Bill Clinton and George Bush Jr.

One of the most influential economic policymakers in the last four decades and chairman of the Federal Reserve for almost twenty years, under four different United States presidents from different parties, Alan Greenspan died this week at the age of 100.

Greenspan was appointed (thirteenth) chairman of the Fed in 1987 by president Ronald Reagan and held the job until 2006, making him the second longest in that position. During Greenspan’s time at the Fed, stock markets prospered but not without periods of extreme volatility. His loose hand at the central bank is sometimes cited as a cause of the 2008 financial crisis.

The Fed in a statement on Monday noted Greenspan’s passing “with deep sadness” and said his “contributions to monetary policy and economic thought left a lasting mark on this institution, on the broader field of economics, and on the country.”