Ramzi Habibi: Oaktree Career, Masiela Lusha, and Private Debt Work
Have you ever searched for Ramzi Habibi and wondered what he does for a living? Many people first see his name because he is married to actress and writer Masiela Lusha. His own career, though, is in finance.
Ramzi Habibi has spent years studying companies, debt, and credit risk. He joined Oaktree Capital Management in 2008. Today, the firm lists him as a managing director in its Global Private Debt group.
His path includes Wharton, Lehman Brothers, high-yield bond research, and private lending. It is a serious finance career that began long before most people searched his name because of a famous spouse.
Ramzi Habibi Quick Bio
| Full Name | Ramzi Habibi |
| Profession | Finance and investment executive |
| Current Company | Oaktree Capital Management |
| Current Role | Managing Director, Global Private Debt |
| Joined Oaktree | 2008 |
| Previous Employer | Lehman Brothers |
| Education | Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania |
| Degree | B.S. in Economics |
| Credential | CFA charterholder |
| Spouse | Masiela Lusha |
| Marriage | December 28, 2013 |
Who Is Ramzi Habibi?
Ramzi Habibi is a finance executive at Oaktree Capital Management. The firm says he works in Global Private Debt. He is also a CFA charterholder.
That job is very different from the public world around Masiela Lusha. She became known through acting and writing. He built his career by studying firms, loans, bonds, and the chance that a borrower may fail to repay debt.
The work is quiet by nature. There are no movie premieres or TV roles. Much of it happens through research, meetings, financial models, and talks with companies or investors.
That is why a useful profile should begin with his career rather than treat him only as a celebrity spouse.
Wharton Gave Him a Strong Start
According to Oaktree Capital Management, he earned a B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
His areas of study were finance and operational and information management. In plain terms, he studied both money and the way firms run.
That mix is useful in credit work. A lender cannot look only at sales or profit. The lender also needs to know how a business works, how it uses cash, how much debt it has, and what may happen if sales fall.
Oaktree also says he had early internships at SHUAA Capital in Dubai and PepsiCo in New York. Those jobs gave him a look at both finance and a large global company before he began full-time work.
His First Major Job Was at Lehman Brothers
Before Oaktree, the finance executive spent two years at Lehman Brothers. He worked as an banking analyst in the Financial Sponsors group.
That team works with private equity firms and other large investors. The work can include buyouts, debt, and other big company deals.
For a young analyst, the pace can be fast. The job teaches how firms are valued and how deals are paid for.
It also teaches a simple lesson: a good company can still be a bad deal if the price or debt load is too high.
That lesson matters later in credit investing, where the main question is not only whether a company can grow. It is whether the company can pay what it owes.
He Joined Oaktree in 2008
Ramzi Habibi moved to Oaktree in 2008. That year matters because the global financial crisis was changing banks, markets, and credit around the world.
He joined the U.S. High Yield Bond group as an associate.
High-yield bonds are often called “junk bonds.” The name can sound harsh. But the idea is simple. These bonds are issued by firms that carry more credit risk than firms with top ratings. Because the risk is higher, investors usually expect a higher return.
The key skill is knowing when the reward is worth the risk.
What High-Yield Research Really Involves
A bond investor does not own the company in the same way a stock investor does. The bond investor lends money and expects it back with interest.
That changes the way the business is judged.
The research team may ask: How much cash does the firm make? How much debt must it repay? Does it have enough room if business slows? Are its assets useful? Does management have a good plan?
The team also looks at the industry. A strong company can still face trouble if the whole sector changes.
This work is why credit research can be detailed. The downside matters a lot. If a stock falls, an investor loses value. If a borrower fails, a lender may have to fight to recover money.
He Rose to a Research Leadership Role
Oaktree says he spent more than a decade in the U.S. High Yield Bond group. He later became Co-Director of Research.
That shows a long rise inside one firm.
A research leader does more than study one company. The role can include setting standards, reviewing work, helping teams judge risk, and making sure an investment view is backed by evidence.
It also requires clear writing and clear thinking. A hard model is not enough if the team cannot explain why a loan or bond is safe enough to buy.
His Current Work Is in Global Private Debt
Today, Oaktree lists Ramzi Habibi as a managing director in Global Private Debt.
Private debt is lending that happens outside the public bond market. A company may borrow clearly from a fund instead of issuing bonds to many investors.
This can give the borrower more flexible terms. It can also let the lender study the deal in more depth.
The lender may negotiate rules on debt levels, cash use, or other parts of the loan. Those rules can help protect investors if the company runs into trouble.
The work still depends on the same core skill he used in high-yield bonds: understand the borrower before putting money at risk.
Why Private Debt Has Grown
Private credit has become a much bigger part of finance in recent years.
Some firms want money that banks may not provide. Others want a loan built around a special deal, purchase, or growth plan.
Large funds can step in and offer that capital.
This creates more choice for companies. It also creates more work for people who know how to judge credit risk.
For an executive with years of bond research behind him, the move into private lending is a natural next step.
The CFA Charter Adds Another Layer
Oaktree also lists him as a CFA charterholder.
The CFA program covers company analysis, portfolio work, ethics, and other core finance skills. Earning the charter takes exams and work experience.
The letters do not make every investment right. They do show formal training in the area.
For readers, this is a better fact to use than the many guessed net-worth numbers found on biography sites.
His Marriage to Masiela Lusha
The finance executive married Masiela Lusha on December 28, 2013, in New Zealand.
A wedding feature from Winnie Couture describes a ceremony on Wanaka Peak. The setting gave the wedding wide mountain and lake views.
The couple had already built lives in very different areas. Lusha worked in acting, writing, and film. Her husband worked in finance.
That gap between careers may also explain why he rarely appears in entertainment news. His job does not depend on public fame.
Two Careers Can Be Public in Very Different Ways
An actor needs an audience. A finance executive often does not.
That simple point helps explain why there is much more public material about Lusha’s screen work than about her husband’s daily life.
It does not mean one career matters more than the other. It means the jobs work in different settings.
His work is measured through deals, research, risk, and returns. Her work is seen on screen or read on the page.
The marriage joins those two worlds without making them the same.
Why Personal Net Worth Claims Should Be Treated Carefully
Senior jobs in finance can pay well. That does not give the public a verified personal net worth.
A true figure would need reliable data about pay, investments, property, debt, taxes, and private assets.
Those records are not available in a complete form for Ramzi Habibi.
So a strong profile should not turn a job title into a made-up fortune.
The career facts are already enough. He has held senior roles at a major investment firm and has worked in credit for many years.
What Makes His Career Relevant Now
Companies need debt in both good and bad markets.
When rates rise or banks become more careful, private lenders can become more important. But hard markets also increase the need for strong credit work.
A lender has to know when to say yes and when to walk away.
That is why long experience matters. An investor who has seen several market cycles has watched good times turn bad before.
Habibi’s path from banking to high-yield research and then private lending fits the way modern credit markets have changed.
Final Thoughts
Ramzi Habibi may first appear in searches because of Masiela Lusha. But his own record is clear.
He studied economics at Wharton, worked at Lehman Brothers, joined Oaktree in 2008, spent more than a decade in high-yield bonds, became a research leader, and moved into Global Private Debt.
That is a full finance career. It does not need guessed age, wealth, or private-life details to make it interesting.
For another profile about a finance professional linked to a well-known person, read Max Dorsch’s story on LakewoodScoop.co.uk.