Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan Dies at 100

Alan Greenspan, the longtime chairman of the Federal Reserve known as "The Maestro" and one of the most influential economic policymakers of his era, has died at the age of 100, Marty Steinberg reported for CNBC.

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan had decades of influence on US monetary policy. (Photo: ©Paul Morigi, Brookings Institution Flickr)

Greenspan died Monday from complications related to Parkinson's disease, according to his wife of 29 years, Andrea Mitchell, NBC News' chief Washington and chief foreign affairs correspondent.

Appointed Federal Reserve chairman by President Ronald Reagan in 1987, Greenspan led the central bank through periods of economic expansion and recession before retiring in 2006.

His tenure was the second-longest in Federal Reserve history, ending just four months short of the record held by William McChesney Martin, who served from 1951 to 1970.

Greenspan became widely associated with the phrase "irrational exuberance," which he used during a televised speech on Dec. 5, 1996.

Discussing the challenges of monetary policy, he questioned whether soaring asset prices had become detached from economic fundamentals.

The remark was interpreted by investors as a warning that markets were overvalued.

Japan's stock market fell sharply after the speech, and other global markets followed. However, markets quickly recovered and continued rising until the collapse of the dot-com bubble in the early 2000s.