Bernanke's Life in Photos

Ben Bernanke: A Life The nerd from Dillon, South Carolina rises to the most powerful job in American banking
Courtesy Bernanke Family

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The son of a pharmacist and a teacher, Ben Bernanke was the smartest kid in Dillon, South Carolina, a small farming town near the North Carolina border. By age 11, he had won the state spelling bee, placing 26th in the national contest, after failing to spell edelweiss.