Alan Greenspan Net Worth, Biography Update, Age, Children, Wife

Alan Greenspan (March 6, 1926 – June 22, 2026) was an American economist who served as the 13th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006. After leaving the Federal Reserve, he worked as a private adviser and ran his own consulting firm, Greenspan Associates LLC.

President Ronald Reagan first nominated Greenspan to the Federal Reserve in August 1987. He was reappointed every four years until he retired on January 31, 2006, making his tenure the second longest after William McChesney Martin. President George W. Bush chose Ben Bernanke to succeed him. Before joining the Federal Reserve, Greenspan worked as a consultant. He was usually reserved in public, but positive media coverage made him so well-known that some people compared him to a “rock star.” Some Democratic leaders in Congress criticized him for supporting Social Security privatization and tax cuts, saying he made his office too political.

Age

Alan was born on March 6, 1926 in New York City, U.S.

Profile Summary

Education

Chair of the Federal Reserve

Member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors

Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers

Biography & Early Life

Greenspan was born on March 6, 1926, in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. His father, Herbert Greenspan, was of Romanian Jewish descent, and his mother, Rose Goldsmith, was of Hungarian Jewish descent. After his parents divorced, he lived with his mother and maternal grandparents, who were originally from Russia. His father worked as a stockbroker and consultant in New York City.

Greenspan went to George Washington High School from 1940 until he graduated in June 1943, where one of his classmates was John Kemeny. He played clarinet and saxophone with Stan Getz and studied clarinet at the Juilliard School from 1943 to 1944. He also played in the Woody Herman band with Leonard Garment, who later became Richard Nixon’s special counsel. In 1944, he was called for possible military service in World War II but was rejected for medical reasons because of a spot on his lung.

In 1945, Greenspan started at New York University’s Stern School of Business. He graduated with a B.A. in economics, summa cum laude, in 1948 and earned an M.A. in economics in 1950. He began advanced studies in economics at Columbia University with Arthur Burns but left because his work at Townsend-Greenspan & Company became too demanding.

Greenspan earned a PhD in economics from New York University in 1977. His dissertation was removed from the university at his request in 1987, when he became chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. In April 2008, Barron’s got a copy and reported that it includes “a discussion of soaring housing prices and their effect on consumer spending; it even anticipates a bursting housing bubble”.

Personal life

Greenspan married artist Joan Mitchell in October 1952, but their marriage was annulled 10 months later. In the late 1970s, he dated newswoman Barbara Walters.

Greenspan started dating journalist Andrea Mitchell in December 1984. At the time, he was 58 and she was 38. They married in April 1997, with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg officiating the ceremony.

Death

Greenspan died on June 22, 2026, at his home in Washington, D.C., from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was 100 years old. After his death, the Federal Reserve said, “Under his leadership, the Federal Reserve achieved a sustained era of price stability that supported economic growth and helped anchor the public’s confidence in the institution.”

Legacy

In its obituary, The New York Times described Greenspan as the “pre-eminent economic policymaker of his time” and a “skilled political operator.” NPR said he was “the rare celebrity among central bankers” and was “lionised” for his leadership in the 1990s. Greenspan was called a “maestro” of the 1990s economic boom, but some also blamed him for the 2008 financial crisis and the recession that followed. The BBC called him the “architect of the modern American economy.” Many saw his belief that financial markets could regulate themselves as a key reason for the crisis. While he led the Federal Reserve, he was sometimes called the “God in the machine” of American finance.

Honors

• President George W. Bush presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Alan Greenspan, on November 9, 2005, in the East Room of the White House.
•  The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States, was presented by President George W. Bush in November 2005.
•  Department of Defence Medal for Distinguished Public Service, January 23, 2006.
•  Commander of the Legion of Honour (France) 2000.
•  Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom), September 22, 2002, bestowed by Queen Elizabeth II.

In 1976, Greenspan received the U.S. Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by the Jefferson Awards.

In 1989, Greenspan was elected as a fellow of the American Statistical Association.

Greenspan was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2000.

In 2004, Greenspan received the Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal for Leadership and Service from Eisenhower Fellowships. In 2005, he became the first recipient of the Harry S. Truman Medal for Economic Policy, presented by the Harry S. Truman Library Institute. In 2007, Greenspan received the inaugural Thomas Jefferson Foundation Medal in Citizen Leadership, presented by the University of Virginia.

On April 19, 2012, Greenspan received the Eugene J. Keogh Award for Distinguished Public Service from NYU.

Net Worth

His estimated net worth is $20 million.