Vivek Ramaswamy is the most recent entrepreneur pivoting to politics. The 2024 Republican presidential candidate is one in all an extended listing of enterprise leaders who’ve run for President of the USA.
And a few have even gained. Entrepreneurs aren’t any strangers to the Oval Workplace—a minimum of eight former U.S. presidents have taken their enterprise backgrounds to the best workplace within the land—from Donald Trump’s actual property enterprise to Jimmy Carter’s peanut farm.
Ramaswamy, 38, can also be garnering consideration as a result of he is likely one of the wealthiest folks ever to enter the race.
This is extra about Ramaswamy’s enterprise historical past, plus different entrepreneurs who’ve tried to tackle the presidency.
Photograph by Win McNamee | Getty Photos — Republican presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, participates within the first debate of the GOP main season on August 23, 2023, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Who’s Vivek Ramaswamy?
Vivek Ramaswamy was born on August 9, 1985, and raised by Indian immigrant mother and father in Cincinnati, Ohio. He excelled in tennis and was nationally ranked in his youth. He was additionally valedictorian of his highschool senior class, per Enterprise Insider.
He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College with a level in biology earlier than incomes a J.D. from Yale College.
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Throughout his research, he labored at QVT Monetary LP as a hedge fund investor specializing in pharmaceutical investments, making $7 million in his first seven years within the workforce, in response to Forbes. He was made companion by age 28 whereas learning at Yale.
Across the identical time, he met his spouse, Apoorva, a throat surgeon and assistant professor on the Ohio State College Wexner Medical Heart. The couple wed in 2015 and stay in Ohio, elevating their two sons.
What are Vivek Ramaswamy’s companies?
Ramaswamy left the hedge fund in 2014 and based Roivant Sciences, a biotech firm, at age 29. Roivant obtained backing from Ramaswamy’s former employer. It operated by buying patents from pharmaceutical firms that had not been totally developed to then develop and market the merchandise.
The corporate and its subsidiaries made billions below this enterprise mannequin, per The Wall Road Journal.
Nonetheless, the enterprise hit tough waters when it bought an experimental Alzheimer’s drug in 2014 for $5 million, per The New York Instances. The drug failed scientific trials, and Roivant discontinued growth in 2017, in response to Insider.
Right now, Roiviant is concentrated on creating medication for psoriasis and dermatitis, in response to its web site.
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Roivant went public in 2021, and Ramaswamy stepped down as CEO shortly after. That very same yr, he additionally printed a guide, “Woke Inc.: Inside Company America’s Social Justice Rip-off” with Heart Road, an imprint of Hachette E book Group. It was a New York Instances Bestseller.
In 2022, he based Try, an asset administration agency with big-name backers (Peter Thiel, Invoice Ackman). In September, the corporate hit $1 billion in belongings, in response to Bloomberg.
What has the reception been to Ramaswamy getting into the race?
Heading into the second Republican debate Wednesday night, Ramaswamy is in second place, polling round (13%) within the newest survey of doubtless GOP main voters in New Hampshire, per CNN.
Former President Trump is the primary selection, polling at 39%.
Ramaswamy’s numbers have skyrocketed for the reason that first debate, however his run to date hasn’t been with out some controversy. He was booed on the first 2024 Republican presidential main debate for stating: “The local weather change agenda is a hoax.”
Final month, Eminem had his crew at BMI ship a cease-and-desist letter to Ramaswamy’s marketing campaign after the candidate used the rapper’s hit 2002 track “Lose Your self” on the Iowa State Honest in August.
This yr, two former Stive staff sued Ramaswamy for allegedly making staffers violate securities regulation and mistreat their fellow coworkers, in response to Bloomberg. One go well with filed in June alleges that Ramaswamy exaggerated the corporate’s funds to staff and buyers. The opposite go well with filed in August claimed the plaintiff was fired for elevating considerations about sexual harassment and age discrimination.
What’s Vivek Ramaswamy’s web price?
Ramaswamy’s web price is slightly below $1 billion, making him one of many youngest almost-billionaires within the nation and one of many wealthiest Republican nominees, per Forbes.
His fortune is comprised of a ten% stake in Riovant, valued at $600 million. Moreover, the corporate has paid him $260 million from his wage and different bonuses. His stake in Try is reportedly price $100 million. He additionally has an funding portfolio with numerous crypto investments.
Meet another entrepreneurs who’ve run for President of the USA:
Michael Bloomberg
Photograph by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP by way of Getty Photos | Former New York Metropolis Mayor Michael Bloomberg on September 13, 2023 in New York.
- Founding father of Bloomberg LP.
- He was elected mayor of New York Metropolis in 2001 and held workplace for 3 consecutive phrases.
- Ran for Democratic presidential nominee in 2020.
- Web price is $96.3 billion, per Forbes.
Ross Perot
Photograph by Ed Lallo/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photos | H. Ross Perot, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Perot Programs Corp., stands for a photograph in his workplace on this file photograph taken on Sept. 28, 2008.
- A Dallas pc billionaire, Perot based Digital Information Programs.
- Ran as an Impartial in 1992 — gained 19% of the favored vote, probably the most ever for an unbiased candidate.
- Had a web price of $4.1 billion at his time of dying in 2019, per Forbes.
Steve Forbes
Photograph by Patrick McMullan/PMC by way of Getty Photos | Steve Forbes on April 7, 2022, in New York Metropolis.
- Editor-in-chief of Forbes journal.
- Ran for Republican presidential nominee in 1996 and 2000.
- Web price is $430 million, per Investopedia.
Herman Cain
Photograph by Michael Tullberg/Getty Photos | Former presidential candidate Herman Cain on November 11, 2019 in Hollywood, California.
Carly Fiorina
Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photograph Financial institution/NBCUniversal by way of Getty Photos | Carly Fiorina on the TODAY present on Tuesday, April 30, 2019.
Tom Steyer
Photograph by Mike Coppola/Getty Photos for TIME | Tom Steyer in New York on April 25, 2023 in New York Metropolis.
- Ran hedge fund Farallon Capital for 26 years.
- Ran for Democratic presidential nominee in 2020.
- Web Price: $2.1 billion, per Forbes.
Andrew Yang
Photograph by JP Yim/Getty Photos – Andrew Yang Might 05, 2023, in New York Metropolis.
- Manhattan Prep CEO
- Ran as a Democrat in 2020 – left the celebration in 2021 and based the Ahead Get together, a centrist political motion committee and political celebration.
- Had a web price of $1 million when he ran for president in 2020, in response to Forbes.
Mitt Romney
Photograph by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Submit by way of Getty Photos | Sen. Mitt Romney on Wednesday, Sept 13, 2023, in Washington, DC.
- CEO of administration marketing consultant firm Bain & Firm and founding father of spin-off non-public fairness funding agency Bain Capital.
- Was elected governor of Massachusetts in 2002 and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018.
- Ran for Republican presidential nominee in 2008. Ran once more in 2012 and gained the nomination, however misplaced the presidential race to President Obama.
- Web price is $85 million, per Insider Enterprise