Former Fed Chair Greenspan dies at 100, market-shaping tenure

2026-06-22

Alan Greenspan, former chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve, has died by the 22nd. He was 100. He weathered a string of crises including the U.S. simultaneous terrorist attacks and earned the nickname Maestro, but later faced criticism for missing the U.S. housing bubble.

An unusually long tenure

According to several U.S. media reports, his wife disclosed the news in a statement. Greenspan served as Fed chair from 1987 to 2006, the second-longest tenure in history after Martin, who led the Fed in the postwar period. It was the first time anyone had served five consecutive terms as chair.

He took the post as Volcker's successor after Volcker curbed high inflation with aggressive monetary tightening, and steered the Fed through Black Monday in 1987 and the Asian currency crisis in 1997. His skill at using words to shape market expectations led to the nickname Maestro, meaning conductor.

Praise and criticism mixed

The monetary tightening in the mid-1990s won high praise because it did not trigger a recession. He later became known for deft policy management, including cautioning against the rise in U.S. stocks by calling it irrational exuberance.

On the other hand, in the mid-2000s, long-term rates did not rise even as he kept raising interest rates, a situation he called a conundrum. In later years, it became clear that the U.S. housing bubble was expanding during that period, and criticism intensified that tightening had been insufficient.

Known for a varied career

After graduating from high school, he studied instruments at a conservatory, and was known as a versatile figure. He gained experience at consulting firms and think tanks before being appointed chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under the Ford administration.

Warsh, the current Fed chair, referred to Greenspan at his swearing-in ceremony in May 2026 and said Greenspan was the first to show what was required for the Fed chair role, which former President Reagan called a great role in U.S. society. Greenspan serialised his memoir, 'Watashi no rirekisho', in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun in January 2008.

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