Vivek Ramaswamy’s journey from bright son of immigrants from Kerala to being Donald Trump’s pick

The rise of Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been tasked by US President-elect Donald Trump along with Tesla owner Elon Musk with improving Government efficiency, is a self-made entrepreneur who tried his luck as a Republican presidential candidate but had to end his bid. Ramaswamy, the 39-year-old son of Indian immigrants from Kerala, is the first Indian American to have been tapped by Trump into his administration beginning January 20 next year.

Vivek Ramaswamy (39) born in August 1985 belongs to the Tamil-speaking Brahmin community. His parents — V Ganapathy Ramaswamy, an engineer, and Geetha Ramaswamy, a geriatric psychiatrist — migrated to the US from Vadakkenchery in Palakkad District in Kerala. Born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Indian-origin entrepreneur was a nationally-ranked tennis player and the valedictorian of his high school, St Xavier. He graduated in Biology from Harvard and received his J D (Juris Doctor) from Yale Law School while working at a hedge fund.

He then started his own biotech company, Roivant Sciences, where he oversaw the development of five drugs that went on to become FDA-approved. In 2022, he founded Strive, an Ohio-based asset management firm.

Trump Tuesday announced that Musk and Ramaswamy will lead the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, aimed at improving governance and curbing wasteful expenditures and gave them a deadline of July 4, 2026, the 250th Anniversary of The Declaration of Independence.

Vivek Ramaswamy’s journey as a son of immigrants to a self-made entrepreneur to a political newbie climbing ladders to try his luck as a Republican presidential candidate has been no short of remarkable. But after his poor showing in the Primaries, Ramaswamy decided in January to end his bid and back Trump. Later, Ramaswamy took to X to declare that he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Trump. “I will do everything I can to make sure he is the next US President. I am enormously proud of this team, this movement, and our country,” he wrote.

Both had indulged in bitter criticisms of each other before the Iowa caucus, where Trump secured a decisive victory. After Iowa, Trump sought to patch things up with Ramaswamy and said, “He did a hell of a job. He came from zero, and he has a big percentage.” Trump’s “came from zero” remark was perhaps meant for Ramaswamy’s background, both as a son of immigrants and coming from a non-political family.

According to his LinkedIn profile, the American business leader is also a New York Times bestselling author of ‘Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam‘, along with his second book, ‘Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit‘, and the ‘Path Back to Excellence, and Capitalist Punishment: How Wall Street is Using Your Money to Create a Country You Didn’t Vote For‘.

The multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur is married to Apoorva, a throat surgeon and Assistant Professor at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. They live in Columbus, Ohio where they are raising their two sons. During his campaign to be a presidential candidate, Ramaswamy had said he aligns some core principles of his Hindu faith with the “Judeo-Christian values” but acknowledged that he would not be the best president to spread Christianity.

During a televised CNN debate ahead of Iowa, Ramaswamy also laid out why he believes his upbringing in Hinduism aligns with the core tenets of Christianity and also highlighted his connection to Christianity through his education at St. Xavier, a Catholic high school in Cincinnati. In its profile of August 21, 2023, ‘How Vivek Ramaswamy Became A Billionaire,’ Forbes calculated his net worth was USD 950 million, which was over USD 1 billion a week before, “making him one of the 20 youngest billionaires” in the US, before a downturn in the market pulled him just under the billion-dollar threshold.

The Forbes story also described how “despite all his money and connections,” Ramaswamy still owned two Ohio homes worth a combined USD 2.5 million and quoted him as saying: “I don’t think we have lived a lifestyle that is radically removed from the one we grew up in. We don’t have giant vacation homes.” But he owns stakes in three private jets, which allow him to hopscotch across the country and still come back to spend time with family in Ohio, it added.

On Wednesday, hours after Trump’s announcement, Ramaswamy – who has announced to withdrawal from consideration for the pending Senate appointment in Ohio after the seat fell vacant following J D Vance’s election as Vice President – took to X to speak his mind. “Over the last 2 years, the Supreme Court has ruled that the administrative state is behaving in wildly unlawful ways. But slapping the bureaucracy on the wrist won’t solve the problem, the only right answer is a massive downsizing,” he posted.

{with Associated Press Inputs)

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