Early years Orszag became a lecturer at the
University of California, Berkeley, and taught
macroeconomics in 1999 and 2000. He then became a senior fellow and deputy director of economic studies at the
Brookings Institution. He was Special
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy (1997–1998), and as Senior Economist and Senior Adviser on the
Council of Economic Advisers (1995–1996) during the
Clinton administration. in 2005.
Congressional Budget Office (2007-2008) Orszag was director of the
Congressional Budget Office from January 2007 to November 2008. During his time at the CBO, he added 20 full-time health analysts (bringing the total number to 50).
Office of Management and Budget (2008-2011) On November 25, 2008, President-elect
Barack Obama announced that Orszag would be his nominee for director of the
Office of Management and Budget, the arm of the White House responsible for crafting the federal budget and overseeing the effectiveness of federal programs. in January 2009 He was invited to attend the
Bilderberg Group conferences in 2010, 2011 and 2012. He was also a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the
Council on Foreign Relations and a contributing columnist for the
New York Times op-ed page. In July 2010 Orszag said that "The problem now is weak growth and high unemployment rather than outright economic collapse". Still, the deficit would be equivalent to 10 percent of the
gross domestic product, the highest level since
World War II. The Office of Management and Budget's mid-session review, forecast a smaller deficit and stronger economic growth than the administration's initial budget release. The deficit forecast in 2011 increased to $1.42 trillion, up from the $1.27 estimate in February. For 2012, the deficit estimate rose to $922 billion, up from $828 billion in the previous report. The annual budget shortfall would bottom out in 2017 at $721 billion, or 3.4 percent of GDP, and begin rising again in following years.
Citigroup (2011-2016) After leaving the Obama administration, Orszag took a job with
Citigroup in 2011. While remaining Citigroup's Vice Chair of Corporate and Investment Banking as well as Chairman of Citigroup's Financial Strategy and Solutions Group, in 2015, he rejoined the Brookings Institution as a non-resident senior fellow of the Economic Studies program. He was named Global Co-Head of Healthcare in July 2018, and subsequently Head of North American M&A. Orszag took over as CEO of Lazard's Financial Advisory in April 2019, overseeing the firm's advisory work for corporations and governments. He created Lazard Geopolitical Advisory in 2022 while CEO of Lazard's Financial Advisory. Oszag was announced as the future CEO of Lazard in early 2023. Orszag assumed the position of Lazard CEO on October 1, 2023. in January 2024, when he also oversaw the board appointment of former
Ernst & Young chairman Stephen R. Howe Jr. infrastructure, and real estate. In the two quarters following Orszag becoming CEO, the firm generated almost $1 billion in fees from deals. ==Personal life==