Janet Yellen

Janet Louise Yellen is a prominent American economist.

She has held several of the most influential economic positions in the United States. From 2021 to 2025, she served as the 78th Secretary of the Treasury. Before that, she was the Chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. Yellen was the first woman to hold either of these major roles. Her career has bridged the worlds of academic research and high-level public service.

Her journey began in the Bay Ridge neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

She was born on August 13, 1946, to a family of Polish Jewish ancestry. Her father, Julius Yellen, was a family physician. Her mother, Anna Ruth, was an elementary school teacher. Yellen attended Fort Hamilton High School, where she was a highly successful student. She served as the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, The Pilot. She graduated as the valedictorian of her class in 1963.

After high school, Yellen pursued higher education at Brown University. She initially planned to study philosophy but switched her major to economics. She graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1967. Later, she earned her master's and Ph.D. in economics from Yale University in 1971. During her time at Yale, she studied under James Tobin, a famous economist. Yellen was known for her meticulous note-taking in his macroeconomics classes. These notes were so helpful that students called them the "Yellen Notes."

Yellen's academic career included teaching at several prestigious institutions. She was an assistant professor at Harvard University from 1971 to 1976. During this time, she was one of only two female faculty members in the economics department. She also taught at the London School of Economics for two years. In 1980, she joined the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley. She remained a faculty member there for many decades. She eventually became the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Economics.

Yellen made significant contributions to economic theory through her research. She often collaborated with her husband, economist George Akerlof. Together, they studied "efficiency wage theory." This theory suggests that paying workers more than the standard market wage can increase productivity. They also developed the "fair-wage effort hypothesis." This idea argues that workers may work less hard if they feel their pay is unfair. Additionally, they researched how reproductive technology, such as contraception, affected social norms in the United States.

Her career in public service is marked by several historic appointments. In 1994, President Bill Clinton nominated her to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. The Senate confirmed her nomination with a large vote of 94 to 6. She later served as the President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco from 2004 to 2010. President Barack Obama appointed her as the Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve in 2010. She then succeeded Ben Bernanke as the Chair of the Federal Reserve in 2014. She was succeeded by Jerome Powell after President Donald Trump declined to renominate her.

In her final major role, Yellen served as the Secretary of the Treasury. President-elect Joe Biden nominated her for the position in late 2020. The U.S. Senate confirmed her on January 25, 2021. Vice President Kamala Harris swore her into office the following day. In this role, Yellen manages the nation's finances and works with international leaders. She has met with many world officials to discuss global economic stability. Her work continues to influence how governments manage money and labor markets.