Brash. Bold. Assertive. Controversial. Confidently Youthful (he’s 38). Tending to talk loudly over others with a wide bright toothy smile. Vivek Ramaswamy seemingly came out of nowhere and wants to be President of the United States. What do we know about him?
Vivek Ramaswamy is an entrepreneur millionaire who made his money founding a pharmaceutical company, Roivant Sciences (2014). He also worked as an investment partner in a hedge fund. His estimated net worth is $950M. He was born to Indian Hindu immigrant parents and speaks fluent Tamil. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in biology and received a law degree from Yale.
Ramaswamy has positioned himself as a representative for a younger generation and many young people like his style and as contrast to the “elders” but what exactly is he promoting? What experience does he have in politics and international relations, foreign policy, negotiation, and compromise which in these times is enormously delicate and intertwined?
Digging deeper: In 2015, Ramaswamy raised $360 million for the Roivant subsidiary Axovant Sciences attempting to market intepirdine as a drug for Alzheimer's disease. Then, Axovant purchased the patent for intepirdine from GlaxoSmithKline (the drug had failed four previous clinical trials) for $5 million. Ramaswamy claimed his company would "be the highest return on investment endeavor ever taken up in the pharmaceutical industry." Before the new clinical trials began, he organized an initial public offering (IPO) in Axovant. Axovant became a "Wall Street darling" and raised $315 million in its IPO. The company's market value soared to almost $3 billion. Ramaswamy took a massive payout after selling a portion of his shares in Roivant. He claimed more than $37 million in capital gains in 2015. Ramaswamy said his company would be the "Berkshire Hathaway of drug development" and touted the drug as a "tremendous" opportunity that "could help millions" of patients, prompting some criticism that he was overpromising.
In September 2017, the company announced that intepirdine had failed in its large clinical trial. The company's value plunged; it lost 75% in one day and continued to decline afterward. Ramaswamy was insulated from much of Axovant's losses because he held his stake through Roivant. The company abandoned intepirdine. In 2018, Ramaswamy said he had no regrets about how the company handled the drug.
Some of the ideas Ramaswamy favors: He has pledged to "use our military to annihilate the Mexican drug cartels.” He agrees with federal legalization of marijuana. Ramaswamy has dabbled in political conspiracy theories, such as asking whether federal agents were on the planes that hit the Twin Towers during the September 11 attacks. He wants "major concessions to Russia" in the Russo-Ukrainian War. He supports ending U.S. military aid to Ukraine, excluding Ukraine from NATO, and allowing Russia to occupy regions of Ukraine in exchange for an agreement that Russia end its alliance with China. He called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky a "bully.” He has expressed support for Taiwanese independence and floated the idea of "putting a gun in every Taiwanese household" to deter an invasion by China but said the U.S. should not militarily defend Taiwan from Chinese attack after the U.S. has achieved "semiconductor independence", which he pledged to achieve by 2028. He said he would pardon Trump if he became President.
Although Ramaswamy said he is not a climate denier, he stated in a Republican primary debate that "the climate change agenda is a hoax" and asserted, falsely, that "more people are dying from climate policies than actual climate change." At other times, Ramaswamy has said that he accepts that burning fossil fuels causes climate change but called global climate change "not entirely bad"; said that "people should be proud to live a high-carbon lifestyle"; and said that the U.S. should "drill, frack, burn coal". He criticizes what he calls the "climate cult" and said that as president, he would "abandon the anticarbon framework as it exists" and halt "any mandate to measure carbon dioxide."
His published books: Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam. - Nation of Victims: Identity Politics, the Death of Merit, and the Path Back to Excellence. - Capitalist Punishment: How Wall Street Is Using Your Money to Create a Country You Didn't Vote For.
Biographical information mostly from Wikipedia.
Vivek Ramaswamy was born August 9, 1985 in Cincinnati, OH, time unknown. – His chart shows dynamic fiery Leo energy with 3 planets in the sign: Mars, Sun and MercuryRx. (Other notable politicians with Mars/Leo include, Trump, Chris Christie, and Rudy Giuliani). I often call Mars in Leo, the superman Mars (especially in male charts) because its tendency is to act boldly and dramatically, larger than life. In some cases, bold becomes brash, pushy, loud, or bullying. Positive attributes include the courage to take a stand for life affirming and life-giving causes and leading with heart and love. Ramaswamy’s brashness is enhanced by an opposition to JupiterRx in Aquarius, adding to controversial and unusual ideas, some of which are bold, exaggerated but lacking in wisdom and often suffering from mis-judging a situation. Some of his Leo planets form a T-square with Moon in Taurus and SaturnRx in Scorpio, essentially pulling in all of the Leo planets and Jupiter/Aquarius too making a fixed Grand Cross. This is a dynamic signature that wants to indelibly imprint itself on the world, writ large in one epic way or another.
Although his birth-time is unknown, his Moon is most likely in steadfast, stubborn and earthy Taurus, where it is exalted (unless he was born later at night between 5:30PM and midnight, then he has a Gemini Moon). His day-to-day modus operandi is to maintain security, pleasure, and to have a comfortable life. The Moon’s opposition to Saturn/Scorpio emphasizes the security aspect and perhaps the intense desire to accumulate wealth. Rigidity and righteousness are also found in these combinations of fixed planets.
His Nodes are in Taurus/Scorpio, so he just had his Nodal return (once every 18 yrs.) about a year ago. which surely factored into his decision to run for the Presidency and gather prestige or power – which are some nodal attributes of Taurus/Scorpio. All the fixed planets mentioned connect to his Nodes, prompting that his energies will entwine themselves with large public events and the issues of the times.
Ramaswamy’s Venus is in watery Cancer (ruled by the Moon), generally a kind, caring and home/family centered position. Venus/Cancer leads us back to the Moon/Taurus and his emotional need to be seen as a person of substance and strength. The closest aspect to Venus is a strained aspect (inconjunct) to JupiterRx/Aquarius. The impulse here is to find security and nourishment through expansive, creative and bold adventures. His Pluto is in Scorpio, part of a generation when Pluto was at the short end of its elliptical cycle, remaining in Scorpio for one of its shortest periods – a total of approximately11 years. This generation has experienced intensity and traumas of various kinds, many experienced death in war or other life tragedies. Those born with Pluto in Scorpio (Pluto’s modern rulership) have a survival instinct that is intense and sometimes obsessive. Although certainly not a complete analysis, the themes of survival, having, holding, accumulating and the desire to be recognized are strong. In this case, it can lead to extraordinary words or deeds (Leo/Aquarius) to attain power and influence (Taurus/Scorpio) which thens translate into securing one’s place or position in life.