Alan Greenspan was born on March 6, 1926, in New
York City. He graduated from New York University with a B.Sc in Economics
in 1948, and a M.A. in Economics in 1950. From 1948 to 1953, he worked
at The Conference Board in New York City, as an economic analyst. From
1955 to 1987, he served as Chairman and President of Townsend-Greenspan
& Co., Inc. In 1974, President Ford appointed Greenspan to chair
the Council of Economic Advisors; he remained at this position until
1977. From 1981 to 1983, he chaired the National Commission on Social
Security Reform.
Greenspan, a devoted follower of Ayn
Rand, supports
the concepts of free-market economics and opposes excessive government
involvement in economic affairs. He continues to advocate laissez-faire
capitalism and the gold standard.
On June 2, 1987, Greenspan
was first appointed Chairman of the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve by President Reagan.
He continued to be reappointed for consecutive
four-year intervals until his retirement
on January 31, 2006. Greenspan was lauded
for his handling of the Black
Monday stock market crash that occurred
very shortly after he first became chairman,
as well as for his stewardship of the Internet-driven, "dot-com" economic
boom of the 1990s.
However, this expansion culminated in a stock
market bubble burst in March 2000 followed
by a recession beginning in late 2000 and
continuing through 2002.
From 2001 until his retirement, he was increasingly
criticized for some statements seen as overstepping
the Fed's traditional purview of monetary
policy, and viewed by others as overly supportive
of the policies of President George
W. Bush, as well as for policies seen
as leading to a housing
bubble. Greenspan was nonetheless still
generally considered during that time to
be the leading authority on American domestic
economic and monetary policy, and his active
influence continues to this day
In
November 2005, President George
W. Bush honored Greenspan with the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest
civilian award in the United States.
Following his retirement as Fed
chairman, Greenspan accepted an honorary
(unpaid) position at HM
Treasury in the United
Kingdom. Greenspan now works as a private
advisor making speeches and providing consulting
for firms through his company, Greenspan
Associates LLC. He
has written his memoir titled The
Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World.
Alan Greenspan has been
married twice. His first marriage was to
Joan Mitchell in 1952. The marriage ended
in divorce one year later in 1953. In 1984,
Greenspan began dating journalist Andrea
Mitchell. Greenspan was 58 at the time,
and the also once-divorced Mitchell was 20
years his junior, at age 38. They married in 1997.
