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Granpa Volcker

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Granpa Volcker wasn't always this mean was he?  Well, yes,yes he was.   The biggest central banker you'll ever see, standing a good 2.1m and well known for having "squashed" inflation back in the early 80s.   He literatally is Uncle Benny's Granpa, since he is Alan Greenspan's predecessor as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.   He is an older, wiser, meaner, tougher Wizard of the Ancient Black money Arts than Uncle Benny will ever be.   

He has had a stellar career from the beginning, to which people of his stature are surely entitled.  Educated at Princeton, Harvard and the London School of Economics, his first job was a three-year stint at Federal Reserve Bank of New York.  After which, he received a 5-year education at Chase Manhattan Bank, followed by a different 3-year education in another branch of government, the US Treasury.  After getting bored with government work once again, he returned to Chase as Vice-President and Director of Planning for another 4 years.   After this, his public career really took off.  He became Under-secretary for International Monetary Affairs at the US Treausury, a position he held for 5 years.  He quickly outgrew the US Treasury however and became President of the New York Federal Reserve, by far the most powerful of the regional banks.   A mere 4-years later, the most coveted Scepter of Golden Power amongst the Wizards of the Black Arts was his, he became Fed Chairman in 1979 and remained there for 8 years.

He is widely reknown for breaking inflation's back in the early 80s through a massive hike in interest rates, for which he was widely criticised at the time as having caused a huge recession.   But we will discuss his public professional merits in more detail in the Journal.   After his arduous public service at the helm of the Fed ended, Granpa Volcker took the ultimate golden parachute, landing a job in he private sector as Chairman of J. Rothschild, Wolfensohn & Co, an investment banking and financial company started by Jacob Rothschild, British royalty, and James Wolfensohn, former president of the World Bank.    Throughout his later private life, has become a remarkable leader in a variety of very powerful and influential organizations, including but not limited to the Group of 30, The Council on Foreign Relations, The Trilateral Commission, Bilberberg Group, Trust Committe of Rockefeller Group, Japan Socienty, American Assembly, American Council on Germany and the Institute for International Economics.  

Recently, he has been thrust out of his comfort zone, playing bingo with Granpa Cokayne down the hall and into the limelight as senior advisor to President Obummer.   As chairman of his Economic Recovery team, Granpa Volcker is sure to once again play an instrumental part in steering the world economy in the near term future.

Stats

  • Born: 09.05.27 - NJ, USA
  • Height: 6ft 7in (2.1m)  (huge!)
  • Religion: Lutheran, Black Arts
  • Hobbies:   Fly-fishing

Academics

  • BA – 1949 – Princeton University
  • MA – Political Economy – 1951 - Harvard University
  • Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Fellow – 1951-1952 – London School of Economics
  • Frederick H. Schultz Professor of International Economic Policy – Princeton University

Office

  • Economist – 1952 – 1957 – Federal Reserve Bank of New York
  • Director of Financial Analysis – 1962 – 1963 – US Treasury Department
  • Deputy Under-secretary for monetary affairs – 1963 – 1965 – US Treasury Department
  • Under-secretary for international monetary affairs – 1969 – 1974 – US Treasury
  • President – 1975 – 1979 – Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
  • Chairman ­– 1979 – 1987 – Federal Reserve
  • Director – 2000-2004 - United Nations Association of the United States of America
  • Chairman -2009 – present – Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board

Private employment

  • Financial economist – 1957 – 1962 – Chase Manhattan Bank
  • Vice-president and Director of Planning – 1965 - ? – Chase Manhattan Bank
  • Chairman – 1987 – 1996 – J. Rothschild, Wolfensohn & Co

Memberships past and current

Known associates

  • Rockefeller family: through Chase Manhattan Bank, Trilateral Commission, and the Trust Committee of Rockefeller Group, Inc.
  • Rothschild family: through J. Rothschild, Wolfensohn & Co.
  • James D. Wolfenson: through J. Rothschild, Wolfensohn & Co.