Who Is Janet Yellen? Age, Biography and Wiki
As of 2025, Janet Yellen is 78 years old. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and cultivated an interest in economics during her formative years. Yellen embarked on an impressive academic journey, leading her to become the first female chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. Her extensive experience in economic policy and advisory roles has made her a highly respected figure in the field. For more detailed information, visit her Wikipedia page.
| Occupation | Politician |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | August 13, 1946 |
| Age | 78 Years |
| Birth Place | New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Horoscope | Leo |
| Country | U.S |
Popularity
Janet Yellen's Popularity over time
Height, Weight & Measurements
Janet Yellen stands at approximately 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm) tall. While her weight is not publicly disclosed, she is known for her professional demeanor and consistent presence in the economic sphere, rather than a focus on her physical appearance.
"Who's Yellen Now?" is a song by Dessa, a member of the indie hip-hop collective Doomtree and contributor to The Hamilton Mixtape.
Marketplace commissioned the song after then-President-elect Biden announced his intention to nominate Yellen as the nation's first female Treasury Secretary and joked that Lin-Manuel Miranda should write a Hamiltonesque musical about her. In addition, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert premiered a parody of Hamilton's opening song about Yellen.
Family, Dating & Relationship Status
Janet Yellen is married to George Akerlof, a Nobel Prize-winning economist, with whom she shares a collaborative and supportive relationship. The couple has been married since 1978 and has one son, Robert. While not much is publicly known about their personal life, their relationship is characterized by mutual respect and shared academic interests.
Her mother was Anna Ruth (née Blumenthal; 1907–1986), an elementary school teacher who gave up her teaching job to become a stay-at-home mother. Her father was Julius Yellen (1906–1975), a family physician who worked from the ground floor of their house. Janet has an older brother, John (born 1942), who is a program director for archaeology at the National Science Foundation.
Net Worth and Salary
In 2025, Janet Yellen’s estimated net worth is around $20 million, reflecting her extensive career in economics, government service, and various advisory roles. During her time at the Federal Reserve and her current role as Secretary of the Treasury, she has earned a substantial salary. Her financial success is also bolstered by investments and speaking engagements throughout her career.
Since the 1980s, Yellen and Akerlof have addressed what's known in the economics literature as "efficiency wage theory" – the idea that paying people more than the market wage does increase their productivity.
Their 1990 paper, entitled "The Fair-Wage Effort Hypothesis and Unemployment", coined "the fair wage effort hypothesis" and was considered by economists to be a significant contribution to the topic: "A precursor to the efficiency wage literature...it had an influence, although the work on efficiency wage theory has had a bigger influence." Akerlof
and Yellen introduced the gift-exchange game, which argues that workers who are paid less than what they consider to be a fair wage will purposefully work less hard to exact revenge on their employer.
Career, Business and Investments
Janet Yellen's career has spanned several decades and includes pivotal roles in economic policy-making. She served as the chair of the Federal Reserve and has held positions at the Brookings Institution and the Council of Economic Advisers. In addition to her governmental roles, Yellen is known for her contributions to economic research and her academic work as a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley. She has also been involved in various investments, utilizing her financial acumen to manage her wealth prudently.
Janet Louise Yellen (born August 13, 1946) is an American economist who served as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury from 2021 to 2025. She also served as chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. She was the first woman to hold either position, and has also led the White House Council of Economic Advisers.
Yellen is the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business Administration and Economics at the University of California, Berkeley.
Social Network
Janet Yellen is relatively low-profile in comparison to some celebrities, but she maintains a presence on professional social networks such as LinkedIn. She tends to share insights and updates related to economic policies and developments rather than engaging in personal updates on social media platforms.
On June 5, 2009, Yellen said that the Federal Reserve should consider raising interest rates earlier to prevent another housing bubble. She argued that higher short-term interest rates probably went against the expansion of a bubble in certain circumstances, like restraining the demand for housing and high-risk mortgages.
Education
Yellen's educational background is exemplary. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in economics from Brown University and went on to obtain her Ph.D. in economics from Yale University. Her strong academic foundation has informed her career decisions and policy approaches, establishing her as a leading voice in economic theory and practice.
Yellen attended the local Fort Hamilton High School, where she was an honor society member and participated in the booster club, the psychology club, and the history club.
She also served as editor-in-chief of The Pilot, the school newspaper, which continued its 13-year streak as the first-place winner of the prestigious Columbia Scholastic Press Association contest under her leadership.
She earned a National Merit commendation letter and was admitted to a selective science honors program at Columbia University to voluntarily study mathematics on Saturday mornings. Yellen was one of 30 students to win state Regents scholarships for college and one of a select few to win the mayor's citation for a scholarship.
She graduated in 1963 as the valedictorian of her class. In line with school tradition, for the editor to interview the valedictorian, she interviewed herself in the third person.
