Alan Greenspan, American economist and long-serving head of the Federal Reserve, has died at the age of 100. He was regularly hailed by politicians, financiers, and journalists for the way he handled the economy while chairing the US Federal Reserve.
Greenspan’s Early Years
Greenspan was born on March 6, 1929, in NewYork City, New York. He “was an American economist and the chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, whose chairmanship (1987–2006) continued through the administrations of four American presidents,” according to Britannica.
He had a head for numbers at an early age, starting at 5 years old, when he demonstrated his proficiency in mathematics by performing large calculations in his head. He was also able to recite baseball batting averages. In his younger years, Greenspan attended Juilliard School, where he played clarinet and jazz saxophone in the Henry Jerome Band.
After which he attended New York University, where he studied economics, earning his bachelor’s in 1948 and then his master’s in 1950. Then Greenspan began work on a doctorate at Columbia University under the supervision of economist and future Fed chairman Arthur F. Burns. In 1952, he met Ayn Rand, a polemical novelist, became a member of her inner circle, adopting her philosophy of radical self-interest and laissez-faire capitalism, according to Britannica.
A year later, Greenspan left Columbia and formed an economic consulting firm in New York called Townsend-Greenspan & Co., Inc. In 1958, William Townsend passed away, and Greenspan stepped up to be the company’s president and chief owner.
Start of Alan Greenspan’s Career
In 1967, Greenspan followed Rand’s recommendation and served as an advisor for Richard Nixon’s 1968 presidential election campaign. He then helped Nixon transition into office. However, he refused a permanent appointment in the Nixon administration, advising the president only informally and serving on presidential task forces and commissions.
Additionally, Greenspan served during Gerald Ford’s presidency as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers from 1974 to 1977. He promoted policies that caused the rate of inflation to drop from 11 to 6.5%. In 1977, he returned to his firm and became an adjunct professor at New York University, where he was awarded a Ph.D. in economics.
On August 11, 1987, President Ronald Reagan appointed Greenspan to take over Paul A. Volcker’s term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. “During the years of his chairmanship, Greenspan became known for his decisive use of monetary policy in steering the economy between the hazards of inflation and recession. When the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell a record 508 points on October 19, shortly after he took charge at the Fed, he acted quickly to ensure liquidity in the markets,” according to Britannica.
The Maestro
In the 1990s, he earned the nickname “the Maestro” for his steady hand guiding markets with cryptic but influential remarks and became one of the most recognizable figures in global finance.
When Asian countries started undergoing a financial crisis and an economic downturn began in 1997, Greenspan lowered US interest rates to cushion the economy. As the Asian economies recovered and the U.S. economy continued its solid expansion, he initiated a series of interest rate hikes in June 1999.
Greenspan is one of the longest-serving Federal Reserve chairs in U.S. history. His wife, Andrea Mitchell, reported that her husband had passed away due to complications of Parkinson’s Disease. The news was first released by NBC News, where Mitchell is the chief Washington and foreign affairs correspondent. May he rest in peace.
Sources:
CBS News: Alan Greenspan, chair of Federal Reserve under 4 U.S. presidents, dies at age 100
The Guardian: Alan Greenspan obituary
Britannica: Alan Greenspan
Image by John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com Courtesy of Wikimedia – Creative Commons
