He was 100 years old
Alan Greenspan, who led the United States Federal Reserve, the most powerful central bank in the world, for five terms, died at the age of 100, just months after celebrating his centenary.
The news was confirmed by his wife, Andrea Mitchell, to whom he had been married for 29 years. In a statement, cited by NBC News, it was revealed that Greenspan died this Monday morning at home.
“Alan passed away in our home this morning, aged 100, due to complications from Parkinson’s disease,” said Andrea Mitchell.
Known as “the Maestro”, Greenspan assumed leadership of the Federal Reserve in 1987, as appointed by the then US president, Ronald Reagan, remaining in the position until 2006. For almost two decades he went through periods of strong economic growth, but also moments of financial instability, leading the second longest term ever at the head of the North American central bank.
One of the most memorable moments of his career came in December 1996, when he used the expression “irrational exuberance” to warn of a possible overvaluation of financial markets.
The statements caused an immediate fall in the Tokyo stock exchange and shook international markets, although the recovery was quick, maintaining the rise in stock markets until the technology bubble burst in 2001.
UPDATED
