Alan Greenspan, Influential and Divisive Fed Chair, Dies at 100

Alan Greenspan, the former chair of the US Federal Reserve who helped shape global economic policy for almost two decades, has died at the age of 100.

His death was confirmed by his wife, the journalist Andrea Mitchell, who said he died of complications linked to Parkinson's disease.

Greenspan led the Fed from 1987 to 2006, serving under presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, an unusually long span across both political parties.

The most watched man in finance

During his tenure, Greenspan became one of the most closely scrutinised figures in world finance. Investors parsed his every public remark for hints about the direction of interest rates.

Supporters credited him with guiding the US economy through a succession of shocks, among them the 1987 stock market crash, the Asian financial crisis, the dotcom boom and the aftermath of the 11 September attacks.

A contested record

His legacy, however, is far from settled. Greenspan later drew heavy criticism for championing deregulation and for policies that detractors say helped inflate the housing bubble before the 2008 financial crisis.

After the crash, he conceded that his confidence in banks' ability to police themselves had been shaken, a rare admission from a figure long regarded as almost infallible.

“He helped define the modern image of a central bank chair as both technician and market signal.”

A long public life

Even after leaving office, Greenspan remained active as a commentator and consultant, his views still sought on inflation, growth and financial risk.

His death closes one of the defining careers of late 20th and early 21st-century economics, one that shaped how governments, investors and households alike came to understand the modern economy.