He studied for and received an MBA from the Yale University School of Management in 1988 and went to work for the investment bank, Salomon Brothers.

[16] Ofori-Atta has business interests in Insurance, Retail Banking, Private Equity, Microfinance, Pharmaceuticals, and Real Estate.

[21] On 25 October 2022, 80 out of the 137 New Patriotic Party (NPP) lawmakers dared President Nana Akufo-Addo to sack Ofori-Atta as Finance Minister citing his inability to properly handle the Ghanaian economy.

[29][30][31][32] In November 2022, a motion of censure was started to remove Ofori-Atta from office due to the decline of Ghana's economy, leading to the Ghanaian cedi being ranked as one of the worst in the world.

[33][34][35][36][37][38][39] In May 2021, Ofori-Atta in a press conference indicated that Ghana will not seek the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in managing the rising debt situation.

[45][46] In December 2022, the IMF reached a staff-level agreement on Ghana's $3 bilion debt bailout with board approval in early 2023 as indicated in a press conference by Ofori-Atta.

[52][53][54][55][56][57] On 10 January 2023, Ofori-Atta was appointed caretaker minister of the Ministry of Trade and Industry following the resignation of Alan John Kyerematen.

[58][59][60][61][62][63] On 14 February 2024, he was replaced as finance minister by President Akufo-Addo in a cabinet reshuffle following criticism of his handling of the country's economic woes.

The Ministry of Finance in a statement denied that he had died but acknowledged that he was receiving treatment outside Ghana due to medical complications after contracting COVID-19 in December 2020.

Ofori-Atta had failed to attend an interview with prosecutors despite being invited for alleged involvement in several corruption cases during his tenure as finance minister.