Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy is a young American entrepreneur. He founded the pharmaceutical company Roivant Sciences in 2014, and in February 2023 announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination in the 2024 U.S. presidential election. He suspended his campaign in January 2024 and endorsed Donald Trump. On November 12, 2024, President-elect Donald Trump announced that Ramaswamy and Elon Musk would lead the new Department of Government Efficiency.
Ramaswamy sees the U.S. in the midst of a national identity crisis precipitated by what he calls “new secular religions.” He is a critic of environmental, social, and corporate governance initiatives (ESG), and he co-founded the investment firm Strive Asset Management.
Ramaswamy was born to Indian immigrant parents in 1985. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in biology and then from Yale Law School.
During his campaign, Ramaswamy called himself an “unapologetic American nationalist,” and he criticized both secularism and the LGBTQ movement. He often attacked Ron DeSantis but avoided directly criticizing Trump.
Ramaswamy repeatedly made controversial claims, including that the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol was “an inside job,” that “big tech” stole the 2020 election, and that the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory was the Democratic Party platform.
He also expressed support for Taiwanese independence and advocated for “putting a gun in every Taiwanese household.” He said that the U.S. should not militarily defend Taiwan from Chinese attack after the U.S. has achieved “semiconductor independence.”
Ramaswamy is a controversial figure, whose actions and statements continue to generate debate.
