Vivek Ramaswamy

Birth Name: Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy

Place of Birth: Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.

Date of Birth: August 9, 1985

Ethnicity: Tamil Indian

Vivek Ramaswamy is an American author, pharmaceutical executive, hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, lobbyist, and political activist. He founded biotech company Roivant Sciences, of which he has been CEO and chairman, and co-founded investment firm Strive Asset Management. He is a self-described “anti-woke” activist.

He was a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 2024.

Vivek was born in Cincinnati. His parents, Geetha and V.G., are Tamil Indian emigrants, from the Palakkad district, Kerala, where his family’s ancestral home is, in Vadakkencherry. His father was an engineer and patent attorney at the General Electric Plant in Evendale, OH. His mother was a geriatric psychiatrist in Cincinnati. He is married to assistant professor and surgeon Apoorva Tewari Ramaswamy, with whom he has two children. Vivek is a Hindu.

Vivek is one of several Asian-Americans to have mounted a notable campaign for a major political party’s nomination for President of the United States. The others were/are:
*Hiram Fong (who sought the 1964 and 1968 Republican nominations; Fong was of Chinese descent)
*Patsy Mink (who sought the 1972 Democratic nomination; Mink was of Japanese descent)
*Bobby Jindal (who sought the 2016 Republican nomination; Jindal is of Indian descent)
*Andrew Yang (who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination; Yang’s parents are Taiwanese)
*Kamala Harris (who sought the 2020 Democratic nomination; Harris’ mother was a Tamil Indian)
*Nikki Haley (2024; Republican; won 2 contests; Haley is of Punjabi Indian descent)

Kamala Harris began serving as Vice President of the United States in 2021.

Vivek is one of five people who were at least partly raised in the Hindu faith, or a Hindu-related faith, to have run for a major party’s presidential nomination. Bobby Jindal, Tulsi Gabbard, who also sought the Democratic Party’s 2020 nomination; Kamala Harris, and Nikki Haley, are the others. Of the five, only Tulsi and Vivek identify as Hindu presently.

Sources: https://www.thecrimson.com
https://www.timesnownews.com
https://fbindependent.com
https://www.newyorker.com