Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve who served during the pinnacle of US economic power, died on Monday at 100.
The self-taught economist became chair in 1987, overseeing the longest economic boom on record and fiercely defending the central bank’s independence with laissez-faire theory and a “temperament for navigating relentless political pressure,” The Wall Street Journal’s chief economics commentator noted.
He was also famous for public statements mumbled in “Fedspeak,” coining phrases like “irrational exuberance” and earning a reputation for “never using one syllable when six would do,” The Economist wrote.
Over his 18-year tenure at the Fed, Greenspan embodied the omnipotent technocrat — a legacy critics say was fatally undermined by his failure to spot the 2008 housing bubble.