Vivek Ramaswamy

Announced as co-lead of Department of Government Efficiency, a non-governmental commission.

Vivek Ramaswamy is a Trump “sycophant,” anti-ESG leader, and author of the book Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America’s Social Justice Scam, in which he assails corporate social responsibility and social justice initiatives. In 2022, Ramaswamy co-founded Strive Asset Management, which is backed by Peter Thiel and J.D. Vance. Ramaswamy has claimed he is “one of the biggest opponents of the ESG agenda […] it’s not just because it ruins companies, though it does that too, what it does is it ruins our democratic process itself.”

On February 21, 2023, Ramaswamy declared his presidential candidacy on the Tucker Carlson show. His 2024 campaign platform, branded “America First 2.0,” included deploying the military to secure the southern border, ending affirmative action, and banning social media for minors.

Ramaswamy has called himself an “unapologetic nationalist” on the campaign trail.

He has called abortion “murder” and has said he supports state-level six-week abortion bans. Ramaswamy has called the LGBTQ+ movement a “cult.” Although he acknowledges same-sex marriage as a “settled precedent” through a spokesman, he advocates for significant restrictions on the rights of transgender individuals and frequently employs anti-transgender rhetoric.

Ramaswamy also called for Ukraine to make significant concessions to Russia, proposing a Korean-war style armistice agreement to halt the Russian-Ukrainian War. His stance included ending U.S. military aid to Ukraine, keeping Ukraine out of NATO, and allowing Russia to maintain control over occupied Ukrainian territories in exchange for severing ties with China. Although Ramaswamy has expressed support for Taiwanese independence and suggested distributing firearms to Taiwanese households as a deterrent against Chinese invasion, he said that once the U.S. achieves semiconductor independence by 2028, it should not intervene militarily to defend Taiwan from Chinese aggression.

His economic policies, which he has labeled “Reagan 2.0,” urge extensive deregulation and promotion of fossil fuel production, despite the devastating climate changes that are underway. Ramaswamy has also proposed dismantling federal agencies like the Department of Education and the IRS, imposing term limits on federal employees, and eliminating federal employee unions. He has an aggressive stance on China, including holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable for COVID-19.

In 2014, he launched Roivant Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company. In 2015, Ramaswamy raised $360 million for Axovant Sciences, a subsidiary of Roivant, to develop intepirdine, a potential Alzheimer’s treatment. Axovant bought the patent for intepirdine from GlaxoSmithKline for $5 million, despite its previous failures in four clinical trials. Ramaswamy claimed his company would deliver unparalleled returns in the pharmaceutical industry. He managed an initial public offering for Axovant, raising $315 million, and the company’s market value briefly soared to nearly $3 billion, despite having only ten employees. Ramaswamy profited significantly from selling part of his shares in Roivant, earning over $37 million in capital gains in 2015 and $18.8 million more between 2016 and 2019.

In September 2017, Axovant announced that intepirdine failed its large clinical trial, causing a 70% drop in the company’s value in a single day. The company’s value continued to decline, affecting various institutional investors, including the California State Teachers’ Retirement System pension fund. Ramaswamy, who was largely protected from Axovant’s losses through his stake in Roivant, initially expressed no regrets about the company’s approach but later acknowledged some regret over the outcome while remaining annoyed by the criticism. Axovant attempted to shift its focus to gene therapy but ultimately dissolved in 2023.

In early 2022, Ramaswamy, along with his high school friend Anson Frericks, co-founded Strive Asset Management, an investment firm based in Columbus, Ohio. The firm successfully raised approximately $20 million from outside investors, including notable figures such as Peter Thiel, J.D. Vance, and Bill Ackman. Strive Asset Management positions itself as “anti-woke,” opposing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles.