ExclusiveLongtime Fed Chair Alan Greenspan Dies at 100

Alan Greenspan, longtime Federal Reserve chairman, died at 100 in his home from complications of Parkinson's disease, NBC reported, citing his wife, Andrea Mitchell, who is the outlet's chief Washington correspondent. Greenspan exerted a powerful influence on the U.S. economy during his tenure at the helm of the Fed from August 1987 to January 2006. He oversaw the second longest economic expansion in U.S. history, an uninterrupted decade of growth from March 1991 to March 2001. His decision to let the economy run despite pressure to raise interest rates against an inflation threat that never materialized helped foster years of U.S. prosperity and earned him a rock star status as an economic maestro. He was hailed as the greatest Federal Reserve chairman when he retired in 2006, but was faulted for a severe financial crisis that followed barely two years later.