Indian-American Republican and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy is planning to announce his 2024 presidential bid, joining Nikki Haley who is set to launch her campaign on Wednesday.
Mr Ramaswamy, 37, who is a millionaire and has been dubbed by the New Yorker magazine as the “CEO of Anti-Woke Inc.”, has, for the time being, embarked on test runs and fact-finding missions in the US State of Iowa where he has been addressing multiple events, according to a media report.
Mr Ramaswamy insisted his trip to Iowa and other prep work he is doing for a potential run are serious, the Politico reported on Monday, adding that he said: "this is not a play for attention."
He is exploring a run for president, testing, among other things, whether his warnings about the dangers of 'wokeism' and socially-responsible investing has political currency with Republican politicians, business leaders and farmers, the report said.
"Ramaswamy doesn't necessarily want to run on his businessman track record. Instead he is planning to launch an ideas-based campaign focused on revitalising the American spirit and bringing back a culture of merit into society," it said.
The son of Indian immigrants - his father a General Electric engineer and his mother a geriatric psychiatrist - Mr Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati. He attended Harvard and Yale universities and is worth reportedly in excess of $500 million, enough to seed his campaign through the key early states.
He made his name first by becoming a successful biotech entrepreneur and developing medicines, including five drugs that became FDA-approved.
“I believe that I've developed a vision for American national identity that I have deep conviction for and is the product of my own journey of having lived the gifts that this country has afforded me,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
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