The billionaire may have missed out on running DOGE, but thanks to his former pharma company’s banner year his fortune is up about 80%.
Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kylemullins/2025/11/20/vivek-ramaswamys-net-worth-has-nearly-doubled-while-hes-running-for-ohio-governor/
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00:00Today on Forbes, Vivek Ramaswamy's net worth has nearly doubled while he's running for Ohio governor.
00:07Billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy quickly rebounded after his 2024 presidential campaign loss and his removal from Doge in January of 2025.
00:17In February, he was back in his native Cincinnati, Ohio, announcing his bid for governor.
00:23Ramaswamy addressed the crowd, asserting, quote,
00:26We're on the cusp of a new golden age in America right now. We will lead Ohio to be the top state in the country for capitalism and meritocracy.
00:35Capitalism has been good for Ramaswamy this year. In March, Forbes estimated his net worth at just about $1 billion, narrowly securing a spot on our world billionaires list.
00:46Today, he's worth about $1.8 billion, an 80% increase in just nine months, all while running for office.
00:53Ramaswamy's net worth surge is largely due to his former pharmaceutical company, Roy Vant Sciences, which he founded in 2014, the same year he appeared on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list.
01:05Roy Vant aimed to revitalize abandoned drugs.
01:08An early spinoff, AxiVent, went public in 2015 with a $3 billion valuation based on an Alzheimer's drug trial that subsequently failed in 2017, crashing its stock.
01:19Ramaswamy, who reportedly kept his AxiVent stock, did sell some Roy Vant shares early, declaring $37 million in capital gains in 2015, claiming he was, quote,
01:32Forced to sell, end quote, for a new investor. Holding that stake would likely be far more profitable today.
01:39He was able to attract more investors regardless, and soon Roy Vant's drug pipeline began to pay off.
01:45In 2019, Roy Vant sold five subsidiaries and a 10% stake to Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo for $3 billion, valuing the company at $9 billion.
01:57Ramaswamy made out like a king that year, declaring over $170 million in capital gains on his 2020 tax returns.
02:06Today, both of Sumitomo's top-selling drugs in North America came from Roy Vant, or Govix, which helps treat prostate cancer, and Gemtessa, a pill for overactive bladders.
02:19Ramaswamy moved from CEO to chairman of Roy Vant in 2021, and the company went public via a SPAC merger soon afterward.
02:27In early 2023, he left the board entirely to run for U.S. president.
02:33In October of that year, Roy Vant sold another spinoff, Televent, to Swiss pharma company Roche for $7.1 billion, sending its stock up 34% by the end of the year.
02:44In September of this year, Roy Vant Sciences' stock surged 72% following positive Phase III trial results for a drug targeting an autoimmune disease which causes muscle weakness and skin lesions.
02:58Despite leaving the company, founder Vivek Ramaswamy's net worth has significantly increased, with his approximately 49 million shares now valued at $1 billion, plus an additional $210 million from stock options.
03:12A Ramaswamy spokesperson confirmed Forbes' figures as, quote, broadly correct, adding that the billionaire holds a $100 million, or 6.7% stake, in Chapter, a startup he co-founded in 2020 that assists seniors with navigating Medicare.
03:29Chapter was valued at $1.5 billion after a $75 million Series D funding round in April.
03:36Ramaswamy's portfolio was mostly stable despite internal shifts.
03:41His, quote, anti-woke firm, Strive Asset Management, founded in 2022, transitioned into a Bitcoin treasury company this year.
03:50Strive's share price dropped 74% following September mergers with asset entities and a second planned merger due to disappointing investor terms.
04:00Still, his stake, previously valued at $150 million, seems stable despite the share decline.
04:08Ramaswamy's remaining wealth includes varied investments, such as a small holding in the media company BuzzFeed.
04:15Vivek Ramaswamy's gubernatorial campaign in Ohio is well-funded, having raised $9.7 million by the end of July, according to reports filed with the Ohio Secretary of State.
04:26This significantly overshadows the $1.4 million raised by his leading Democratic opponent, physician Amy Acton, the former head of Ohio's Health Department.
04:36In contrast to his previous presidential bid, where he contributed $26 million of his own money, Ramaswamy has only loaned his current campaign about $200,000, a small fraction of his fortune.
04:48For full coverage, check out Kyle Kahn Mullins' piece on Forbes.com.
04:53This is John Palmer from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.
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