Alan Greenspan, Fed Chairman During Boom Years Prior to Subprime Mortgage Crisis, Dies at 100

Alan Greenspan, former Federal Reserve chairman, died at 100 on Monday at his home in Washington, D.C. His wife, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell, confirmed his death, stating he passed away from complications of Parkinson's disease. Greenspan served as Fed chairman for 19 years, from 1987 to 2006, under four U.S. presidents, overseeing a period of significant economic prosperity. During his tenure, he advocated for low interest rates and deregulation, which critics argue contributed to the housing bubble that preceded the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis and the subsequent Great Recession. The Federal Reserve issued a statement acknowledging Greenspan's "lasting mark on this institution, on the broader field of economics, and on the country." The statement highlighted his role in achieving a sustained era of price stability that supported economic growth and bolstered public confidence in the institution, attributing this to his "rigorous analytical discipline" in monetary policymaking.