100-year-old economist who led the US Federal Reserve System for almost 20 years has died
In the USA, at the age of 100, the well-known economist Alan Greenspan, who headed the country's Federal Reserve System from 1987 to 2006, has died. Greenspan's death was reported by his wife Andrea Mitchell. According to her, the economist died at home from complications of Parkinson's disease.
Photo: J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Alan Greenspan led the American central bank for almost two decades and served under four US presidents: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. During this time, he became one of the most influential figures in the country's economic policy.
Greenspan was born in New York in 1926, studied economics, and earned an academic degree. In his youth, he was influenced by the ideas of writer Ayn Rand, with whom he maintained a friendship for many years.
Shortly after his appointment as head of the Federal Reserve System, the major stock market crash of 1987 occurred. Greenspan took a series of emergency measures to support the US financial system, which helped to avoid even more severe consequences.
He gained particular renown in the 1990s when the American economy experienced a prolonged period of growth. For his role in managing the country's financial system, he was called the "rock star" of economics and "maestro".
After the 2008 financial crisis, Greenspan's activities began to be criticized. Some experts believed that during his leadership, problems in the mortgage market, which later led to a serious crisis, were not noticed in time. The economist himself admitted that the scale of these events turned out to be much larger than could have been foreseen.
In his final years, Greenspan engaged in consulting, wrote books, and memoirs. He remained an authoritative expert in the field of economics and one of the most famous figures in American financial history.