Vivek Ramaswamy: Know about Indian-origin entrepreneur running for US President

Vivek Ramaswamy, an entrepreneur in the healthcare and technology industries, conservative commentator, and author of Indian descent, announced his candidacy for the presidency of the United States during an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News.

Who is Ramaswamy and what has he accomplished? Let’s take a look.

Early childhood

Vivek hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, where he spent his childhood. His parents, who came from Vadakkancherry, Palakkad, Kerala, India, migrated to the United States.

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VG Ramaswamy, his father, completed his studies at a local engineering college in Kerala and was employed at the General Electric Plant located in Evendale, Ohio. On the other hand, Geetha, Vivek’s mother, worked as a geriatric psychiatrist based in Cincinnati.

Education

In 2003, Vivek completed his high school education at St. Xavier High School, which is located in Cincinnati. During his time there, he was recognized as the class valedictorian and demonstrated his talents as both a nationally-ranked junior tennis player and a skilled pianist.

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Vivek completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard College in 2007. He graduated with an B.A. in Biology, achieving the highest honours of summa cum laude and being inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. His senior thesis focused on the ethical dilemmas associated with the creation of human-animal chimeras.

For this work, he was awarded the Bowdoin Prize for Natural Sciences, and a summary of his research was published in The New York Times and The Boston Globe in 2007. In 2013, Ramaswamy obtained his J.D. from Yale Law School.

Career

Together with Travis May, Vivek co-founded Campus Venture Network in 2007. This technology company offered networking resources and software to entrepreneurs in universities. In 2009, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation acquired the company.

From 2007 to 2014, Vivek worked as a partner at QVT Financial. During this time, he co-managed the firm’s biotech portfolio and pursued a law degree at Yale, completing it from 2010-2013.

In 2014, Vivek established Roivant Sciences, a pharmaceutical company that specializes in leveraging technology for drug development. He served as CEO of the company until 2021 and was featured on the cover of Forbes magazine in 2015 for his accomplishments in drug development.

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Vivek also co-founded Chapter Medicare, the only Medicare navigation platform for consumers, in 2020. He stepped down from his role as CEO of Roivant Sciences in early 2021 to publish Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam. The book, which provides insight into the world of social justice in corporate America, quickly became a bestseller, debuting at #2 on The New York Times bestseller list.

Political views

Recently, since 2020, he has been an outspoken critic of stakeholder capitalism, censorship by big tech companies, and critical race theory.

In a 2022 profile by The New Yorker, he was referred to as “The C.E.O. of Anti-Woke, Inc.” and has been recognized as one of the influential leaders of the anti-woke movement, admired for his persuasive and charismatic advocacy for a practical, populist approach.

According to statements made by Vivek, he strongly advocates for a merit-based immigration system and does not believe in offering leniency to individuals who entered the country illegally.

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Vivek has recently announced his decision to join the Republican presidential field, following the announcements made by former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Governor and ex-Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley regarding their own presidential bid.