Key Figures of the 2008 Financial Crisis

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Ben Bernanke

Federal Reserve Chair during the crisis, and a scholar of the Great Depression. Bernanke led the Fed's aggressive emergency response, including near-zero rates and the first quantitative easing program, widely credited with helping prevent an even deeper collapse.

Henry "Hank" Paulson

Treasury Secretary under President George W. Bush, Paulson pushed the $700 billion TARP bailout program through Congress in October 2008 to stabilize the banking system.

Richard "Dick" Fuld

CEO of Lehman Brothers, whose September 2008 bankruptcy — the largest in U.S. history — became the crisis' defining moment.

Timothy Geithner

President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York during the crisis (and later Treasury Secretary under Obama), Geithner was deeply involved in the Bear Stearns and AIG interventions.