|
Alan
Greenspan
became well known for his economic influence
as Chairman of the Board of Governors
of the Federal Reserve between 1987 and
2006. He is now an advisor and lecturer,
working through his company Greenspan
Associates LLC. During his time on the
Board of Governors, Greenspan made choices
relating to the U.S. interest rates, inflation
and other economic issues that directly
affected housing markets and the changing
U.S. economy.
Alan
Greenspan was born on March 6, 1926 in
New York City to a Jewish
Hungarian couple. Although he later studied
Economics at New York University, Greenspan
first attended Julliard School from 1943
to 1944 to study the clarinet. He also
played the saxophone and regularly played
in a jazz band. After graduating from
NYU with a B.S. in Economics in 1948,
Greenspan continued to study economics
and received an M.A. in Economics two
years later. Although he intended to pursue
a higher education in the field from Columbia
University, he never finished the requirements
for a Ph.D.
Between
1948 and 1953, Alan Greenspan worked on
The Conference Board, a New York think-tank,
as an economic analyst. With a background
in business and industry through his work
at the think-tank, Greenspan moved on
to become Chairman and President of Townsend-Greenspan
& Co. He helped run the economic consulting
firm for 33 years, leaving only once between
1974 and 1977 to serve under President
Ford as Chairman of the Council of Economic
Advisors.
Ten
years after leaving his full-time position
with Townsend-Greenspan & Co, Greenspan
was appointed as Chairman of the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve by
Ronald Regan in 1987. Between his time
at Townsend-Greenspan and his position
at the Federal Reserve, Greenspan served
as the director at numerous companies
including Automatic Data Processing, Inc.,
General Foods Inc., J.P. Morgan &
Co., Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA),
Mobile Corporation, The Pittston Company,
and Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New
York. He married twice, once in 1952 to
Joan Mitchell, a union that lasted one
year, and a marriage to Andrea Mitchell
that began in 1997.
Greenspan
served as the Federal Reserve Chairman
for almost twenty years ending in January,
2006. During his time as Chairman he was
applauded for his work during difficult
economic times including the stock market
crashes and resulting recessions of the
late 1980s and early years of the 21st
century. Critics accuse Alan Greenspan
of overstepping boundaries of traditional
Federal economic interests and blame him
for policies that ultimately led to the
housing bubble in 2006 (which has created
the US
Subprime crisis).
He
was notorious for giving confusing, technical
speeches that few understood. When Alan
Greenspan was understood, however, he
was often blamed for changes in stock
markets following his speech. Following
his record fifth term as Chairman, he
received the Presidential Medal of Freedom,
the highest award presented to civilians
of the U.S. After his term ended in late
January, 2006, Greenspan began consulting
and lecturing with his company Greenspan
Associates LLC. He also wrote a memoir,
"The
Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New
World", that was published in
late September, 2007.
Alan
Greenspan is also known for his work with
friend Ayn Rand, a novelist and open objectivism
supporter, and contributed to columns
and books related to Rand.
This
Alan Greenspan biography may not
be reproduced online.
Copyright © Woopidoo.com (ek)
|
Bookmark