“Given a fair shot and equal chance, there’s nothing beyond the capacity of the American people,” said US president-elect, Joe Biden, when introducing his new economic team. Janet Yellen personifies that vision, says The Wall Street Journal. Having made history in 2014 when she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve, she has now smashed two more glass ceilings – becoming not just the first female US Treasury secretary, but also the first person to achieve the holy trinity of heading the Treasury, the central bank and the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
The human touch
The 74-year-old economist has pledged to run “an institution that wakes up every morning” thinking about people’s jobs, paycheques, struggles, hopes and dignity, says The New York Times. “A famed labour economist”, Yellen observed that growing up in “working-class Brooklyn” had shaped her. Her mother, Anna, was a junior school teacher; her father, Julius, was a family doctor in a neighbourhood of poor European immigrants. “I heard very often when I was growing up what it meant to family life when someone lost a job.”
Fans credit Yellen with broad-mindedness, arguing she brings “a human touch” to decisions. “She understands the economics, she understands the politics, she has empathy and a deep understanding of social problems,” says former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi. “It’s very, very, rare to find that combination.” But it was her “brainy side” that shone early on, says the Financial Times. Top of her class, Yellen edited her high school newspaper – in one edition conducting “a witty interview with herself”. At Brown University, she fell in “love at first sight” with economics, later studying for a doctorate under James Tobin, “a master of Keynesianism”, at Yale.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Ditching academia for her first job on the Fed staff in 1977, Yellen met her husband, economist and later Nobel laureate, George Akerlof, in the cafeteria. “Not only did our personalities mesh perfectly, but we have always been in all but perfect agreement about macroeconomics,” he once wrote. Early in their marriage, the couple both taught at the London School of Economics before returning to San Francisco in the early 1980s. “I think at the time people underrated her,” LSE professor Lord Desai told the BBC in 2014. “She was ‘just’ George Akerlof’s wife.”
A safe pair of hands
Yellen finally shrugged off the “trailing spouse” moniker in 1994 when she joined the Fed’s board of governors, three years later becoming chair of Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers. Credited with delivering “early warnings about the credit crunch”, she took the top Fed job in 2014 under Barack Obama, says The Economist. Her subsequent rejection by Donald Trump (who reportedly questioned whether 5ft 3in Yellen was “too short” for the job) was at odds with her performance – “the Yellen Fed found a decent balance”.
Often described as unflappable, she has long been seen as a safe pair of hands. Yet Yellen has also “quietly achieved rock star status” among a younger generation far removed from economic and political circles, says The New York Times. In 2014, she was “mocked” for wearing the same outfit to both her White House nomination and her confirmation hearing. “At least we know her mind won’t be preoccupied with haute couture,” wrote one waspish gossip columnist. Suffice to say, no one disses Janet Yellen like that anymore.
-
How to do a mid-retirement MOTYou may have heard of a midlife MOT, but experts say a mid-retirement MOT is also essential to ensure your finances are on track and your pension savings last as long as you do
-
Burberry’s share price surges despite collapsing profits and job cuts announcementBurberry’s share price has soared, despite collapsing profits and around 1,700 jobs potentially set to be cut, as markets assess the turnaround plan’s effectiveness
-
Greg Abel: Warren Buffett’s heir takes the throneGreg Abel is considered a safe pair of hands as he takes centre stage at Berkshire Hathaway. But he arrives after one of the hardest acts to follow in investment history, Warren Buffett. Can he thrive?
-
Who will be the next Warren Buffett?Opinion There won’t be another Warren Buffett. Times have changed, and the opportunities are no longer there, says Matthew Lynn.
-
Lorne Michaels: the ringmaster at Saturday Night LiveLorne Michaels created Saturday Night Live, a cultural phenomenon that launched the careers of countless stars in America.
-
Elliot Grainge: the music mogul of the TikTok age who will now helm Atlantic RecordsElliot Grainge, the entrepreneur behind the upstart music producer 10K Projects, has taken over the top job at Atlantic Records, the label synonymous with musical greats. Can he transform its prospects?
-
Ben Cohen: The Ben & Jerry’s co-founder who wants to break away from UnileverBen Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is seeking to break away from Unilever, the conglomerate he sold out to in 2000. It’s a battle for the soul of the brand synonymous with corporate do-gooding.
-
Anne Wojcicki: the 'daring' 23andMe CEO who reached too farProfile Anne Wojcicki dreamed of a revolution in personal genomics and medicine and set up 23andMe in 2006. Its collapse into bankruptcy provides a cautionary tale
-
Why French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been banned from running for officeMarine Le Pen, presidential candidate and leader of France's right-wing National Rally party, has been barred from standing by the country's judges.
-
Remembering Eddie Jordan: Formula One’s inimitable maverickProfile Eddie Jordan was one of the great characters of motor sport with a zeal for deal-making. His death leaves a hole in the sport that won’t be filled
