Story perspectives

Former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan Dies at 100

6/24/2026

Summary

Greenspan Dies

Alan Greenspan died on June 22, 2026, at age 100 from Parkinson’s complications.
He was the 13th Federal Reserve (Fed) chair from August 1987 to January 2006 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
He steered the economy through the 1987 stock-market crash, the dot-com bubble, the September 11 attacks and the early-2000s recession.
The 2011 Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission cited his deregulation policies as a factor in the 2007-08 subprime mortgage crisis.

Summary

Greenspan Condemns Probe

In January 2026, Fed Chair Alan Greenspan co-signed a statement with five former Treasury secretaries condemning President Donald Trump’s probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell as an attack on Fed independence.
Greenspan, who played clarinet with Stan Getz and earned a doctorate, founded Greenspan Associates in 2006 to advise firms.
He boosted Fed transparency by releasing minutes and transcripts after congressional pressure while bathing two hours each morning reviewing boxcar data.

Summary

Greenspan's Reform Impact

Greenspan founded Townsend & Greenspan, chairing it 1954-74 and 1977-87 before joining the Federal Reserve.
He served on the boards of J.P. Morgan & Co., Alcoa and General Foods.
In 1968 he informally advised Richard Nixon’s presidential campaign with polling and strategy.
He sat on the 1970 commission that recommended ending the U.S. draft for an all-volunteer force.
From 1981-83 Greenspan chaired the National Commission on Social Security Reform, shaping pension overhaul proposals.

History

Historical Context

President Jimmy Carter signed the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act on March 31, 1980, raising FDIC insurance from $40,000 to $100,000 and extending Federal Reserve rules to all banks. The act dismantled Regulation Q, freed thrifts to pay higher deposit rates, and helped spark the 1980s savings-and-loan crisis, a deregulation trend that later contributed to the 2007-08 mortgage collapse.

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Greenspan Dies

Alan Greenspan died on June 22, 2026, at age 100 from Parkinson’s complications.
He was the 13th Federal Reserve (Fed) chair from August 1987 to January 2006 and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.
He steered the economy through the 1987 stock-market crash, the dot-com bubble, the September 11 attacks and the early-2000s recession.
The 2011 Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission cited his deregulation policies as a factor in the 2007-08 subprime mortgage crisis.

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