Alan Greenspan, who led the Federal Reserve for more than 18 years and whose comments could sway investors like few others, has died at age 100. The news was announced Monday in a statement from his wife, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell, who said he died from complications of Parkinson's disease.
Greenspan was nominated to lead the central bank by President Ronald Reagan in August 1987. He was reappointed by every subsequent president until 2006, when Ben Bernanke succeeded him. During his tenure, he steered the U.S. economy through two recessions, the 1987 stock market crash, the 1997 Asian financial crisis, and the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Widely credited with helping preside over the longest economic expansion in U.S. history, Greenspan was also among the first prominent voices to warn that the stock market could be overvalued during the dot-com bubble. His often Delphic public statements made him a uniquely influential figure in markets; a single phrase from him could move asset prices globally.
Critics later blamed Greenspan's low interest rate policies in the early 2000s for fueling the housing bubble that led to the 2008 financial crisis. Greenspan himself acknowledged mistakes in his approach to financial regulation, a humility that Mitchell noted in her statement: "He was always honest in acknowledging his mistakes."