“He was a giant of a man who helped shape the U.S. economy for decades under presidents of both parties, but was always honest in acknowledging his mistakes."

“He was a giant of a man who helped shape the U.S. economy for decades under presidents of both parties, but was always honest in acknowledging his mistakes."

The former head of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan has died at the age of 100. The influential economist served five terms under four presidents. He joined the government under President Gerald Ford and was appointed by Ronald Reagan to finish out the term of the exiting Fed Chair.

His wife of 29 years, Andrea Mitchell, told CNBC that he died in his home with complications related to Parkinson's Disease. “Alan passed away at our home this morning at the age of 100 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was a giant of a man who helped shape the U.S. economy for decades under presidents of both parties, but was always honest in acknowledging his mistakes,” she said. Mitchell is NBC's chief foreign affairs and Washington correspondent. 

"To me he was my husband," she went on, "who shaped my life from our very first date in 1984. He had ‘irrational exuberance’ for baseball, the Washington Commanders, tennis, golf and music, especially jazz. He will be remembered for his brilliance and his kindness. Being his life partner was the joy of my life.”

Greenspan was a close associate of Ayn Rand and was part of her group. "Ayn Rand and I remained close until she died in 1982, and I’m grateful for the influence she had on my life. I was intellectually limited until I met her," he said in his book.

Those who supported Greenspan in his career say that he oversaw the largest expansion in the US economy in history while critics point to him for the housing bubble and collapse in 2008 because of low interest rates at the time. That bubble burst and then led into the Great Recession just a year after he was replaced by Ben Berknanke. 

In his memoir "The Age of Turbulence," Greenspan defended the low interest rate policy that encouraged more people to buy homes. “I believed then, as now, that the benefits of broadened homeownership are worth the risk. Protection of property rights, so critical to a market economy, requires a critical mass of owners to sustain political support," he wrote. 

After leaving the Fed, Greenspan launched his own consulting firm, Greenspan Associates. Greenspan's first marriage ended in divorce and he later married Mitchell in 1997, who was 20 years his junior. The ceremony was overseen by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.