Alan Greenspan was born in 1926 and reared in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. After studying the clarinet at Juilliard and working as a professional musician, he earned his
B.A.,
M.A., and
Ph.D. in economics from New York University. From 1974 to 1977, he served as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Ford. In 1987, President Reagan appointed him chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, a position he held until his retirement in 2006. He is the author of
The New York Times bestsellers
The Age of Turbulence, The Map and the Territory. and
Capitalism in America.
