Alan Greenspan

Year of birth: 1926

Place of birth: New York, USA

Education: Doctor of Economics

Position: Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve

Brief biography of Greenspan:

Born in New York City on March 6, 1926.

Obtained a bachelor's degree in economics from New York University in 1948.

Obtained a master's degree in economics in 1950.

Obtained a doctorate in economics in 1977.

From 1954 to 1974 and from 1977 to 1987, he served as chairman and president of the New York City Industrial Consulting Company (Townsend-Greenspan Company).

In 1970, he served as advisor to the President's Council of Economic Advisers.

He served as chairman from 1974 to 1977.

After 1977, he served as a consultant to the Congressional Budget Office and a director of General Cable Company, Morgan Company, General Foods Company, Molson Trust Company and Pegasus Company.

In 1981, he served as a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers.

From 1981 to 1983, he served as Chairman of the National Social Insurance Reform Committee.

In 1982, he served as a member of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Committee.

In August 1987, he was appointed Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board by President Reagan.

In July 1991, President Bush appointed Greenspan to continue to serve as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.

In February 1996, President Clinton nominated him for re-election as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. On June 20, the Senate overwhelmingly approved the nomination. Greenspan also serves as chairman of the Federal Open Market Committee.

On January 4, 2000, President Clinton reappointed him as Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and on June 20 of the same year, he took up the position for the fourth time.

On May 18, 2004, US President Bush nominated him to continue to serve as chairman of the Federal Reserve. On June 17 of the same year, the U.S. Senate approved Bush's nomination. On June 19, Greenspan was sworn in to begin his fifth term.

In July 1998, Greenspan was awarded the United States "Peacemaker" Award.

In August 2002, the Queen of England awarded Greenspan the honorary title of "Sir" in recognition of his "outstanding contribution to global economic stability."

Greenspan loved puns and loved music and sports. He dreamed of becoming a professional musician and, after dropping out of New York's prestigious Juilliard School, played saxophone in a trendy nightclub below the Paramount Theater in Times Square.

In 1952, he married painter Joan Mitchell. Later divorced.

In April 1997, he married NBC television reporter Andrea Mitchell, who was 20 years younger than him.

In addition, he has visited China many times.

Personal life story:

Comments from the financial community: "When Greenspan opens his mouth, investors around the world prick up their ears." "When Greenspan sneezes, investors around the world prick up their ears." Everyone will catch a cold." "Idiot! It doesn't matter who is president, as long as Allen is the chairman of the Federal Reserve." --- this is a slogan put on the cover of Fortune magazine on the eve of the 1996 U.S. election. The so-called "Allen" refers to Alan Greenspan, who has served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board since 1987.

On the fourth day of the new millennium, President Clinton chose to reappoint Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

Clinton's reason for continuing to appoint Greenspan is that Greenspan has fully demonstrated three major strengths during his past 12 and a half years as chairman of the Federal Reserve, namely professional technology, sophisticated analytical capabilities, and traditional common sense judgment.

This appointment was approved by the Senate in early February. Greenspan was already 77 years old when he expired. He set two records: one is the oldest Federal Reserve Chairman in the history of the United States; The longest-serving chairman in the 86 years since the establishment of the Bureau.

Clinton's decision not only received immediate support from leaders of both parties in Congress, but was also unanimously welcomed by the economic and financial circles and major media. Of course, Clinton's nomination is also an affirmation of Greenspan's long-term leadership of U.S. monetary policy. Many people believe that the long-term growth of the U.S. economy is largely due to Greenspan's interest rate policy. To some extent, he has transcended party affiliation and become the helmsman of the U.S. economy.

Veterans of three dynasties

As the central bank, the Federal Reserve Board of the United States is referred to as the "Federal Reserve Board". From 1913 to the present, the Federal Reserve has been controlling the currency and credit of the United States, playing the role of the "borrower of last resort" and using three major levers: open market operations, bank borrowing discount rates, and financial institutions' statutory reserve ratios to regulate the economy. , aiming to "provide the United States with a safer, more stable, and more adaptable monetary and financial system."

The position of chairman of the Federal Reserve Board is very familiar to Greenspan. Counting from 1987, Greenspan has served in this position for 12 years, which is an extremely rare thing in American history. When new U.S. presidents move into the White House, the first thing they do is to replace all the cabinets with their own people. From the Reagan administration to the Clinton administration, the only ones in Washington officialdom that can survive many personnel shocks and still remain standing are the "Three Dynasties" The veteran "Greenspan".

In 1926, Greenspan was born into a financial family in New York City. He was the only son in the family and was raised by his divorced mother from the age of four. As a child, he showed an unusual interest in music, but his father, a stockbroker, seemed to have a greater influence on him. As a result, he was fascinated by numbers and often devoted himself to studying numismatics without losing his interest. He received a bachelor's degree in economics from the State University of New York in 1948 and a doctorate in economics from the same school in 1977.

In 1954, the young Greenspan joined the Townsend Company in New York. Within five years, he owned half of the company's shares, and the company was renamed Townsend Greenspan. Pan Consulting Company" and served as president. During that time, Greenspan made many friends and gained a reputation as "the most astute securities dealer" on Wall Street. In the past thirty years, Greenspan not only had a good reputation on Wall Street, but also frequently traveled in Washington official circles, fully preparing for his transformation from a businessman to an official.

In 1987, when Federal Reserve Chairman Volcker retired, Greenspan unexpectedly responded and was appointed as his successor by President Reagan. In the history of the Federal Reserve, the reason why Greenspan's appearance seems so sudden is because the chairman of the Federal Reserve has always been elected from within, and Greenspan had never served in the Federal Reserve before.

Greenspan was appointed at a time of crisis on the eve of the stock market crash in January 1988. When he took office, he encountered the "Black Monday" of the U.S. stock market in 1987. Many investors even He committed suicide in despair. Greenspan acted calmly. The prescription he prescribed at that time was to loosen money, stop the continued vicious development of the stock market, and steadily correct the course of the American ship. "This made many Americans who originally doubted his ability He was overjoyed and has been inseparable from the position of Fed Chairman ever since.

Since then, Greenspan has made frequent "weird moves". In 1994, he raised interest rates one after another, which was regarded as "simply crazy"; during the global financial crisis in 1998, He responded calmly and cut interest rates three times, thereby protecting the United States from the financial crisis and ultimately curbing the spread of the crisis. This repeated brilliance made him known as the "God of Finance" by Coal Body. Greenspan insisted on anti-inflationism and had the courage to break through the constraints of economic theory.

Traditional theory holds that an unemployment rate above 6 percent will lead to economic contraction, and an unemployment rate below 5 percent will trigger inflation. The current unemployment rate in the United States is only 4%, and the economy is still growing steadily. Another argument of traditional theory is that economic overheating will inevitably lead to inflation, but he noticed that large-scale high-tech investment reduced production costs while increasing productivity, so he spared no effort in promoting the new technological revolution. Bergstein, director of the Institute of International Economics, called this Greenspan's "most remarkable historic contribution". He "not only changed financial policy, but also changed our economy and future." As a result, the U.S. economy achieved a safe "soft landing."

Greenspan has always been alert to the overheating of the U.S. economy and will take measures to cool down the temperature as soon as there are signs of overheating. He directed the American economic giant through the troubled 1980s, and enabled the United States to experience unprecedented economic prosperity in the 1990s. At this point, even harsh critics have to admit that no one in the past 25 years has been more qualified for the position of chairman of the Federal Reserve than Greenspan. According to statistics, among more than 400 senior executives in the United States, the approval rate for Greenspan is 97%. "National Observer" magazine said that the economy is like the military. No one is omnipotent and invincible on this battlefield, but Greenspan is a wise commander. His judgments are more correct and less wrong. It's really rare. Many Americans say that Greenspan is "the second most influential figure in the United States" after President Clinton. There is a saying among people in the global financial community: "When Greenspan opens his mouth, investors around the world prick up their ears." "When Greenspan sneezes, investors around the world catch a cold." Because of his real position. Being too sensitive means that he is destined to be the center of all kinds of storms.

In appearance, Greenspan looks more like an old scholar. He always wears a dark suit, always wears a pair of black-rimmed glasses, and always speaks slowly and without any emotion. Wall Street investors spend a lot of effort studying every speech Greenspan makes, trying to capture even a little bit of clues from his word choice, but they are always disappointed. Because Greenspan's speech was ambiguous and ambiguous. Greenspan himself admitted: I spent a lot of time trying to avoid questions because I was worried that I would be too blunt. Finally, I finally learned "the language of the Fed" and learned to be vague.

Interestingly, Greenspan also applied this "new language logic" to his twilight love. He had a twelve-year relationship with NBC senior reporter Andel Nell Mitchell. However, due to his habitual use of "too much suggestive" language, the astute female reporter could not figure him out. The original intention almost ruined a happy marriage. However, on Christmas Day 1996, Michelle, who was fifty but still charming, finally understood the deep affection of the seventy-year-old Greenspan, and became famous simultaneously with him the following year. Carpets last for hundreds of years.

For twelve years, Greenspan’s day basically started at 5:30 in the morning. He likes to soak in a bathtub filled with hot water and then spend two hours reading various financial and economic materials, and sometimes even brings wet materials to the office. Perhaps because he felt deeply that his words and deeds were of great importance, he placed a sign on his desk that read "Get the money out of here." Turning on the computer on his desk, Greenspan could touch the arteries of the global economy through the Internet, and his care for the United States' "new economy" began here. He even predicted the Great Depression before it happened and was hailed as a god by Clinton. He also served as a clarinet player.