Called the “Master of the Universe” by journalist Robert Novak, enigmatic economist Alan Greenspan (1926–2014) became one of the most closely watched financial voices of his era. When he spoke, Wall Street listened.

As chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006, his influence over interest rates could help accelerate the economy or gently slow it down, shaping financial currents not only in the United States, but across the world.

“Money,” said poet Carl Sandburg, “is power, freedom, a cushion, the root of all evil, the sum of all blessings.”

Greenspan was born on this day in New York City. As a young man he played clarinet and saxophone in jazz bands and briefly attended Juilliard before turning toward economics. In 1948 he graduated from New York University, summa cum laude, beginning a career that would eventually place him at the center of American financial policy.

For several years he also explored the “moral dimension” of capitalism as a member of philosopher Ayn Rand’s Objectivist circle.

“Dollars do better if they are accompanied by sense,” observed clergyman Earl Riney.

Greenspan became known for exactly that, a careful intelligence and a famously cautious style of speech. He advised Presidents Ford and Reagan before being appointed chairman of the Federal Reserve in 1987.

“If I seem unusually clear to you, you must have misunderstood what I said,” he once joked.

During his long tenure the Fed navigated market shocks, global financial turbulence, and the rapid expansion of modern financial markets. His reputation for steady hands and measured responses made him one of the most influential economic figures of the late twentieth century.

His long watch over the nation’s central bank reminds us that behind every market chart are human judgments, caution, bravery, and the search for balance.