The 13th Federal Reserve chairman presided over an era of unprecedented economic expansion, but his legacy remains inextricably linked to the 2008 financial crisis and the perils of deregulation

Tragically, the long-serving Fed chair’s stance against stricter supervision of the US financial and banking systems came back to haunt him.

While causes of the “Great Moderation” are debated to this day, it reflected global improvements in economic management and institutions more than the skills of one man.