Jordan is Senior Managing Director with Lazard Freres & Co. LLC, an investment banking firm, from January 2000 to the present. He is also currently a member of the board of directors of multiple corporations, including American Express, J.C. Penney Corporation, Xerox, Asbury Automotive Group and the Dow Jones & Company. He is formerly a member of the board of directors of Revlon, Sara Lee, Corning and RJR Nabisco during 1989 leveraged buy-out fight between RJR Nabisco CEO F. Ross Johnson and Henry R. Kravis and his company KKR.
He was awarded the Spingarn Medal in 2001.[8]. His memoir Vernon Can Read! was published the same year. ISBN 189162069X
In 2004, Jordan led debate preparation and negotiation efforts on behalf of John Kerry, the Democratic nominee for President.[9]
Jordan is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2005, he attended the annual Bilderberg conference [10].
In 2006, Jordan served as a member of the Iraq Study Group, which was formed to make recommendations on the U.S. policy in Iraq [11].
A close friend of Jordan was the late Xerox tycoon Charles Peter McColough, who convinced Jordan to join the Board of Trustees at Xerox. McColough served as a mentor and friend of Jordan's until his death.