Follow the money behind Vivek Ramaswamy

6 mins read

Follow the money behind Vivek Ramaswamy

People in glass houses, shouldn’t throw stones. That goes for MAGA Republican candidates too.

Ramaswamy accused other Republican Presidential candidates of being “bought and paid for. Time to see who is funding him.

Ramaswamy calls himself as an “outsider” but has close ties to Republican billionaire donors and dark money groups. Prominent among such connections are Peter Thiel, the co-founder of tech giants PayPal and Palantir and a rightwing mega-donor, and Leonard Leo, the activist who has marshaled unprecedented sums in his push to stock federal courts with conservative judges..

How did Ramaswamy make his money? Did he really get a grant from a SOROS foundation? Could his promise to kill the IRS be tied to the huge tax loophole equity fund managers that he and Bill Ackman benefitted from? How do billionaire donors like Charles Koch and Peter Thiel help him? What is Ramaswamy’s connection to Teneo Network, the Leonard Leo group?

Follow the money and connections with this relationship map.

Follow the money

Tracking money is easier with a relationship map that was designed with the free Kumu app. It shows people, groups and their relationships. Click on any person for details that appear in the side panel. You can also click on the line connecting people and groups to understand the nature of their relationship. This map was designed with news sources including:

  • ‘He’s an insider’: Ramaswamy’s deep ties to rightwing kingpins revealed – The Guardian
  • A Guide to Vivek Ramaswamy, From Culture War Commandments to 9/11 Trutherism – Rolling Stone
  • ‘Anti-Woke’ GOP Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Can Thank Affirmative Action for His Success – Daily Beast
  • Inside the “Private and Confidential” Conservative Group That Promises to “Crush Liberal Dominance” – ProPublica
  • VIVEK RAMASWAMY’S TRUTH – The Atlantic
  • Fellowship Announcement – Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship

Fellowship from Soros related foundation

Ramaswamy got a $90,000 fellowship from the Daisy and Paul Soros, the latter being the late brother of George Soros… Does he believe fellowships for children from immigrant families, like the one he got, is to blame for and justifies xenophobia? Does he secretly carry a burden of knowing he couldn’t succeed without identity-based help? – Daily Beast

Kill the IRS to give tax breaks to billionaire donors

He worked for QVT, a hedge fund after graduating. On January 5th (the day before the deadly insurrection in DC) a senior Treasury official whose previous job involved helping the wealthy avoid taxes, the new regulations represented a major victory for private equity firms. They ensured that executives in the $4.5 trillion private equity industry, whose leaders often measure their yearly pay in eight or nine figures, could avoid paying hundreds of millions in taxes. – NY Times

Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman is an investor in Ramaswamy’s STRIVE Capital – Forbes

Ramaswamy has adopted many of the now standard-issue Republican obsessions and translated them into a platform that proposes sweeping cuts to the federal government, and vastly increases the powers of the executive branch. He’s promised to eliminate the Department of Education, the FBI, and the IRS, as well as to fire “at least half the federal workforce” – The Atlantic

Another dark money Leonard Leo group

Ramaswamy has spoken at retreats staged by Teneo Network, a group Leo chairs and which aims to connect high-powered conservatives, to “crush liberal dominance” in American life. – Reported by ProPublica and Documented, Other Teneo Network speakers have reportedly included Ron DeSantis, the Florida governor polling ahead of Ramaswamy in the Republican primary, and the former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, who trails Ramaswamy and clashed with him on stage in Milwaukee. – The Guardian

TakeAway: Don’t be conned. Follow the money to see who a candidate cares about. Who do you think Republicans are trying to help when they promise to cut the IRS? You or their billionaire hedge fund donors?

Deepak
DemLabs

DISCLAIMER: ALTHOUGH THE DATA FOUND IN THIS BLOG AND INFOGRAPHIC HAS BEEN PRODUCED AND PROCESSED FROM SOURCES BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE, NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED CAN BE MADE REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, LEGALITY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY SUCH INFORMATION. THIS DISCLAIMER APPLIES TO ANY USES OF THE INFORMATION WHETHER ISOLATED OR AGGREGATE USES THEREOF.

This relationship map can be freely shared with this link: https://embed.kumu.io/be9abb84524b9989e66e76866ce76007
Embed it in a website with this code: “<iframe src=”https://embed.kumu.io/be9abb84524b9989e66e76866ce76007″ width=”940″ height=”600″ frameborder=”0″></iframe>”

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