MAGA Moolah: How Vivek Ramaswamy got richer during his US presidential campaign

The fortune of the Indian-American businessman, Vivek Ramaswamy, increased by more than $100 million during his Iowa campaign for the Republican nomination.

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who endorsed ex-US President Donald Trump after dropping out of the White House race and finishing fourth in the in Iowa caucuses on Monday, spent millions on his unsuccessful campaign. Despite that, the Indian-American businessman is now richer than he was eleven months ago when he entered the contest for Republican presidential nomination, according to a Forbes report.

Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy (Getty Images via AFP)

His fortune increased by more than $100 million during his Iowa campaign for the Republican nomination.

When Ramaswamy declared his candidacy, his estimated net worth was $840 million, which jumped to $960 million after his campaign kicked off. According to his filings with the Federal Election Commission, he invested $17 million in his campaign during the first nine months of 2023 that is $1.8 million in cash and $15.25 million classified as loans.

According to Ramaswamy's camp, he is significantly wealthier with a worth of at least $1 billion. However, it hasn't been clarified yet how much money Ramaswamy spent on the campaign in the last quarter and in early 2024.

The rich becoming richer: A deeper look at Ramaswamy's wealth

Before the Iowa caucus, Ramaswamy liquidated $33 million worth share of Roivant Sciences, his largest asset, and informed that he intended to use a portion of the earnings to fund a substantial investment in his campaign, as per news outlet Axios.

The publicly traded pharmaceutical development company that Ramaswamy established in 2014 and oversaw as CEO until 2021 ended Tuesday's trading at $10.86 per share, up 25% from the day he announced his candidacy for the president on February 21, 2023. Ramaswamy owns 6.4% stake in the firm which is around $565 million.

Last year on September 27, the stock reached an all-time high of $13.19, and it concluded the year up 42%. According to CNN, eleven of Roivant's twelve stock analysts are still bullish on the company, with an aggregate price target of $15.50. Pharma behemoth Roche purchased a subsidiary of Roivant, an inflammatory bowel medication named Televant, for $7.1 billion in December.

Then there is Strive Asset Management that was founded by Ramaswamy in 2022, following publication of his best-selling book Woke, Inc. and his resignation as CEO of Roivant. After starting his campaign, he left his position as executive chairman of Strive, the investment firm that offers institutional and individual investors exchange-traded funds.

However, he is still the company's largest shareholder with $150 million at stake. This estimate is based on the company's last financing round in November 2022, when investors like Bill Ackman and Peter Thiel valued Strive at around $300 million.

Strive more than doubled its assets under management during Ramaswamy's campaign, rising from over $500 million in early 2023 to over $1.1 billion as of this week. The majority of that increase occurred during the spring and summer of last year, when Ramaswamy's popularity was on the surge. Just two weeks after the first Republican debate, in September, Strive received $1 billion in assets from investors.

In public tax filings, Ramaswamy revealed that he possesses over $240 million in cash and personal assets. After selling a portion of his Roivant share in a private market transaction, he made $39 million (pre-tax) in 2015, and $176 million in 2020, when Japanese giant Sumitomo Dainippon paid $3 billion to purchase five of Roivant's drugs and a 10% stake in Roivant.

Ramaswamy endorses Trump as crowd chants ‘VP, VP’

The friendly equation between Ramaswamy and Trump was recently witnessed when the 38-year-old displayed his desire to act as a devoted MAGA attack dog throughout the campaign. He even asked other Republican hopefuls to drop out from the race and endorse Trump.

In New Hampshire, Trump held a rally with Ramaswamy and thanked him for endorsing him for the November presidential runoff.

"There is not a better choice left in this race than this man right here. And that is why I am asking you to do the right thing as New Hampshire and to vote for Donald Trump as your next president," Ramaswamy said.

"It's an honor to have his endorsement. He's gonna be working with us and he'll be working with us for a long time. Thank you," Trump responded, as the crowd shouted "VP, VP", a sign that Trump may pick Ramaswamy as his vice presidential candidate.