
Another candidate is standing against former president Donald Trump in the race for the Republican nomination in the 2024 presidential election.
Multimillionaire startup founder and investor Vivek Ramaswamy threw his hat in the ring on Feb. 21, a week after former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley stepped up to the plate.
Born to Indian parents in Cincinnati, Ramaswamy is a lesser-known figure in the world of politicsââa political outsider,â in his own words. Equipped with a biology degree from Harvard University and a law degree from Yale University, Ramaswamy in 2014 founded Roivant Sciences, a healthcare company that applies tech in drug development. In the following years, he pulled off remarkable biotech initial public offerings while helping to start other healthcare and technology companies.
But itâs not tech or business that dominated the 37-year-old Indian-Americanâs presidential announcement. In a video titled âThe New American Dream,â the Ohio native claimed the nation is facing an identity crisis, pitting traditional values against âwoke leftâ ideas.
Watch: Vivek Ramaswamyâs presidential run 2024 announcement
Vivek Ramaswamy on Americaâs national identity crisis
âFaith, patriotism & family are disappearing. We embrace one secular religion after anotherâfrom wokeism to climatismâto satisfy our deeper need for meaning. Yet we cannot even answer what it means to be an American. The GOP can fill that void. E pluribus unum: from many, one. That is the dream that won the American Revolution; that reunited us after the Civil War, that won us two World Wars & the Cold War. That is the dream that still gives hope to the world. That is American exceptionalism.â -Vivek Ramaswamy
A non-exhaustive list of Ramaswamyâs agenda
đ Ramaswamy believes in âsecuring the border unapologetically and eliminating lottery-based immigration in favor of meritocratic admission,â according to his Feb. 21 Wall Street Journal op-ed.
đđż He plans to eliminate affirmative action across the American economy, including rescinding Lyndon B. Johnsonâs Executive Order 11246 that mandates that federal contractorsâwhich employ approximately 20% of the US workforceâadopt race-based hiring preference, and ordering the justice department to prosecute illegal race-based preferences.
đ He wonât hesitate to fire âunelected bureaucrats like Anthony Fauci or Merrick Garlandâ if they âreach beyond their legal scope.â He would also stop funding agencies âthat waste money or have outlived their purposeâ as well as ones âthat canât be reformed.â Heâs also seeking 8-year-limits for all federal bureaucrats, like the one imposed on presidents.
𤏠He plans to fight government pressures on technology companies to censor disfavored political speech. âAs Elon Musk did at Twitter, I will release the âstate action filesâ from the federal governmentâpublicly exposing every known instance in which bureaucrats have wrongfully pressured companies to take constitutionally prohibited actions,â Ramaswamy wrote.
â âIf you canât fire someone for being black, gay or Muslim, you shouldnât be able to fire someone for his political speech,â Ramaswamy said, vowing to work with Congress âto enshrine political expression as an American civil right.â
đľ Reject central bank digital currencies
đ¨đł Fight the rise of China in more ways than one. How? Ramaswamyâs suggestions include:
- âReclaim global energy leadership by rejecting the demands of a new climate religion that shackles the US and leaves China untouched.â
- âAchieve semiconductor self-sufficiency while vigorously protecting Taiwan.â
- âWe should prohibit kids under 16 from using TikTok.â
- âUse financial levers to hold China accountable for spawning the covid-19 pandemic.â
- âBe willing to bar U.S. companies from expanding into China until its government abandons theft and other mercantilist tactics.â
Company of interest: Strive Asset Management
Like Florida governor Ron DeSantis, who is expected to jump into the race in the next few months, Ramaswamy is an ardent critic of corporate efforts related to diversity and sustainability. The author of Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate Americaâs Social Justice Scam has called out ESG investmentsâbased on environmental, social and corporate-governance principlesâand even set up Strive Asset Management last year with backing from billionaire investor Peter Thiel, urging companies to prioritize âexcellence over politics.â
One big number: Ramaswamyâs $600 million net worth
According to Forbes, Ramaswamyâs net worth has been upwards of half a billion dollars since 2015. While the presidential candidate didnât confirm his net worth to WSJ, he didnât dispute the estimates either. Ramaswamy told WSJ he plans to put a significant amount of money from his fortune into the race, but didnât specify an amount.
Will Ramaswamy help or hurt Donald Trumpâs chances?
Billionaire investor and hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has given his vote of confidence to Ramaswamy, suggesting the country is âreadyâ for him to win the whole thing while praising his âcandor, acumen, discipline and energy.â
However, political analysts arenât so confident. They think that having more candidates in the race will lead to support getting splintered, potentially helping incumbent Trump win with his army of loyal and established supporters, since the way delegates are assigned is skewed, especially in winner-take-all states like Florida. This becomes more likely should rumored contenders like DeSantis, former vice president Mike Pence, and former secretary of state Mike Pompeo enter the race in the coming months.
Related stories
â Nikki Haley is the first Republican candidate to challenge Trumpâs 2024 presidential bid
đĽ What the asset manager backed by Peter Thiel gets wrong about climate change
đ§Ź Trumpâs win had little to do with manufacturing, and everything to do with cultural identity