Who is Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican presidential hopeful?
investing.comBy Tim Reid
(Reuters) -Vivek Ramaswamy, a multimillionaire former biotech executive, has a chance to build on the attention he has been getting in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination at Wednesday night's debate.
Here are some facts about Ramaswamy's life and career:
A HINDU RAISED IN THE AMERICAN MIDWEST
Ramaswamy, 38, was born in Ohio to immigrant parents from southern India. He was raised in the Hindu faith of his parents, but went to a Catholic high school. He earned a biology degree at Harvard University before moving on to Yale Law School.
Ramaswamy worked as a hedge fund investor and says he had already made several million dollars before graduating from Yale. In 2014 he founded his own biotech company, Roivant Sciences, which bought patents from larger companies for drugs that had not yet been fully developed and marketed. He resigned as CEO in 2021. In 2023 the business magazine Forbes estimated Ramaswamy's wealth at $630 million.
A FORMER LIBERTARIAN RAPPER WITH A PATCHY VOTING RECORD
Ramaswamy says he was a libertarian during college. While at Harvard, he would perform libertarian-themed rap songs under the stage name «Da Vek». He has reprised some of his rap skills on the campaign trail this year. His performance of Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' at the Iowa State Fair this month went viral on social media.
Ramaswamy says he voted for a libertarian in the 2004 presidential election, but did not vote in 2008, 2012 or 2016. He has contributed to both Republican and Democratic candidates. He says he voted for former Republican President Donald Trump in 2020.
AN «ANTI-WOKE» CRUSADER
In recent years Ramaswamy has become a fierce conservative. In his 2021 bestseller 'Woke, Inc.', Ramaswamy decries
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