The son of two Indian immigrants, Vivek Ramaswamy’s political affiliations are the polar opposite of what you might expect a young, affluent, Indian-American man’s to be. While most of his generation reliably votes blue, Mr. Ramaswamy is part of only 13% that hold socially conservative views.
That’s probably the most interesting thing about him.
Mr. Ramaswamy followed the same trajectory as many members of the conservative establishment: an Ivy League education, a successful history in business, and above all, views characterized by their political expediency. While at Harvard, his nascent talent for brash, fallacious debate became apparent, eventually pummeling his way to become president of the Harvard Political Union. After graduating, Mr. Ramaswamy founded a private social networking firm, Campus Venture Network, which was acquired by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation in 2009.
That was Mr. Ramaswamy’s first taste of financial success, and he would go on to make millions as the founder of Roivant Sciences, which operated upon the model of buying patents of unsuccessful drugs and investing billions into their promotion and sale. Through this strategy, Ramaswamy became a multimillionaire within a decade.
While this rags-to-riches arc may seem typical of other presidential candidates, such as Mitt Romney, it is Mr. Ramaswamy’s politics that confound many. In 2020, he established a now-defunct social-impact initiative, Roivant Social Ventures (RSV), which endeavored to “promote systemic, sustained improvements to the way health care is accessed and delivered”, driving “substantial social returns” and “reinvest[ing] financial returns to drive long-term impact”.
Oddly enough, the bona-fide conservative cultural crusader just three years ago was enthralled by the same ideals he hopes to outlaw now. Similarly, Mr. Ramaswamy stops at nothing to hide his wealth and pedigree, anointing himself the champion of the common man.
But no, the contradictions don’t end there! Mr. Ramaswamy, once a fervent devotee of containment doctrine, is now a staunch isolationist, believing that Ukraine should make “major concessions” to Russia, Taiwan should arm its citizens against China, and that the U.S. should start “defunding” international organizations hostile to it, like the W.H.O.
Mr. Ramaswamy’s unhesitant willingness to shed his ideals directly contradict the foundation of his campaign: the moral crusader sent to Washington to “drain the swamp”. It is nothing but the most bitter irony that Mr. Ramaswamy is the complete opposite, a wealthy, far-removed ideologue determined to deify the most established of the establishment: Donald Trump.
The Roar 