Inside the World of Ben Bernanke

The Decision Room
At least twice a week, Bernanke walks next door from his office to sit at a 2-ton, 27-ft.-long table carved out of Honduran mahogany and black granite. Perhaps the most important group he meets with is the Federal Open Market Committee, the group that oversees monetary policy. On the far wall, a 1937 map of the 12 Federal Reserve districts hangs above artifacts of U.S. currency, including a rare $500 bill.

• Ben Bernanke: TIME's 2009 Person of the Year