Vivek Ramaswamy: The Indian-American CEO who wants to be US president

Two of the three Republicans who have announced plans so far to enter the US presidential race are Indian-Americans. While Nikki Haley is a familiar name, surprise candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is much less well known. California-based journalist Savita Patel assesses his chances and whether he could bring change.

Mr Ramaswamy, a multimillionaire entrepreneur and author of the book Woke, Inc., announced his presidential bid on 21 February with an appearance on a Fox News show and a video laying out his political views. He wants to launch a "cultural movement to create a new American dream" based on the "pursuit of excellence" - and he says "diversity is meaningless if there's nothing greater that binds" people.

The 37-year-old, who was born in Ohio, studied at Harvard and Yale, earned his millions as a biotechnology entrepreneur and then founded an asset management firm.

He's been vocal about his disdain for what he calls the corporate world's "wokeism" on racism and climate, claiming it hurts both businesses and the country. He's particularly opposed to ESG (environment, social and corporate governance) initiatives, by which a company's social and environmental impact is measured.