Everything to know about Vivek Ramaswamy, who left Elon Musk's DOGE effort and is expected to run for Ohio governor
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- Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech billionaire, dropped his 2024 presidential bid to back Donald Trump.
- Ramaswamy left the Department of Government Efficiency, leaving Elon Musk as the face of the effort.
- Here's everything to know about Ramaswamy.
Vivek Ramaswamy became a top supporter of President Donald Trump after his own presidential primary campaign fizzled out.
After the November 2024 general election, Trump tapped Ramaswamy to co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency alongside Elon Musk, another Trump fan.
Ramaswamy over the span of several weeks laid out DOGE's plans to reform the federal bureaucracy. However, he left DOGE just as it was set to commence its work under Trump's second administration.
And now, Ramaswamy has his sights set on the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial race, with the entrepreneur expected to kick off his campaign in February, according to multiple outlets.
How did Ramaswamy get here? Here's a look at his background and path to Trump's inner circle.
Vivek Ramaswamy's family, early life, and education
Ramaswamy was born in August 1985 in Cincinnati.
His parents, who immigrated from Kerala, India, raised him Hindu, but he attended a Catholic high school. He has a younger brother named Shankar.
Ramaswamy graduated from Harvard University in 2007 with a degree in biology. A self-described contrarian, Ramaswamy thrived academically and moonlighted as a rapper under the name "Da Vek."
Years later, after making a fortune on Wall Street, he attended Yale Law School. He graduated with a law degree in 2013 though he never intended to practice law.
Ramaswamy married his wife, Apoorva, in 2015. They have two sons, Karthik and Arjun, and a $2 million estate in Upper Arlington, outside Columbus.
Vivek Ramaswamy's career
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Ramaswamy's net worth is about $1 billion, according to Forbes. He made his fortune in biotech and pharmaceuticals.
After graduating from Harvard, he worked on Wall Street at QVT Financial, a hedge fund. He made partner by age 28. At the same time, he was attending law school at Yale University, where he befriended JD Vance, Trump's vice president.
In 2014, Ramaswamy left QVT to found Roivant Sciences, a pharmaceutical venture to develop drugs previously abandoned by other companies.
Ramaswamy stepped out of his role as CEO in 2021 to serve as chairman, a position he held until early 2023, when he stepped down to focus on politics.
In 2021, published a book, "Woke, Inc.," which explored his position that American capitalism works best without political posturing. He co-founded Strive Asset Management, an "anti-woke" investment fund that garnered support from conservatives like tech billionaire Peter Thiel.
2024 presidential run
Ramaswamy launched his bid for the presidency in February 2023, entering a crowded field of conservatives vying for the GOP presidential nomination that ultimately went to Trump.
He branded himself as a candidate trying to bring American exceptionalism back to the forefront of the national narrative.
Ramaswamy suggested raising the voting age from 18 to 25 because he said Gen Z didn't have enough national pride. He also suggested they should have to "meet a national service requirement" — such as serving in the military, working as a first responder, or passing a civics test — to access their voting rights.
He also floated sending US troops to the southern border, limiting the Federal Reserve, and shutting down the FBI and the Department of Education.
Ramaswamy suspended his presidential campaign in January 2024 and threw his support behind Trump, who would go on to select him to co-lead DOGE with Musk, who previously suggested Ramaswamy would make a good vice president.
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Department of Government Efficiency appointment
Ramaswamy was slated to team up with Musk to lead DOGE, a task force with grand plans to streamline government operations and reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy.
"I look forward to Elon and Vivek making changes to the Federal Bureaucracy with an eye on efficiency and, at the same time, making life better for all Americans," Trump said in a November 2024 statement announcing the ambitious effort.
On X, Ramaswamy said that "Americans voted for drastic government reform & they deserve to be part of fixing it."
In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that month, Ramaswamy and Musk outlined what they said would be DOGE's three categories of reform: "regulatory rescissions, administrative reductions and cost savings."
The duo also said DOGE would seek to bring about "mass head-count reductions across the federal bureaucracy" through voluntary severance payments and early retirements.
However, Ramaswamy's exit from DOGE was announced in January 2025 just as the task force was to begin its work.
DOGE exit and Ohio gubernatorial run
Shortly after leaving DOGE, Ramaswamy appeared on Fox News, where he was asked about the circumstances behind his departure.
"We had different — and complementary — approaches," he said of his work with Musk.
Ramaswamy then said Musk examined things from a technological approach, whereas he took on more of a "constitutional law, legislative-based approach."
And Ramaswamy said his exit from DOGE came from a "mutual discussion" with Musk.
"I wish him well," he said. "In saving the country, it's not a one-man show from the top down or the bottom up, it's all of the above, and that's what I'm in for."
Ramaswamy, who had long been rumored as a potential statewide candidate in Ohio, is now poised to jump into the GOP gubernatorial primary in the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.