Alan Greenspan, economist and longtime head of the Federal Reserve, dies at 100

Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve Board whose economic prowess was indelibly marred for some by his actions leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, has died.

Alan Greenspan, the influential economist who steered U.S. monetary policy during his five terms as chairman of the Federal Reserve under four presidents, died Monday, according to his wife, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell.

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He was 100.

Greenspan helped define modern American capitalism from the final years of the Cold War-era through the dawn of the digital age. He presided over the Fed during one of the longest economic expansions in U.S. history, a boom stretching from 1991 to 2001. But he was also faulted for decisions that critics say created the conditions for the global financial crisis of 2007-08, such as advocating for deregulation of the financial sector.