COLUMBUS, OH — With an estimated net worth of about $2.4 billion, Vivek Ramaswamy is one of five total Ohioans, and less than .000003% of Americans, who qualify as billionaires. 

Billionaires are an exclusive group, and members stick together – especially when it comes to politics. A new report from Innovation Ohio has identified 22 billionaires who are using their fortunes to elect Ramaswamy governor of Ohio. All but two live out of state.

Ramaswamy’s billionaire backers have amassed their fortunes in tech, finance, real estate, retail, and by inheriting family wealth. Many have maxed out their donations to his campaign ($16,615 for an individual). However election law allows donors to give unlimited funds to super PACs. Pro-Ramaswamy group, V-PAC (Victors, Not Victims) has raised more than $42 million – 75% of it from billionaires. V-PAC and the Ramaswamy campaign have spent or reserved a combined $60.9 million on advertising this cycle – including many misleading attack ads.

“Many Ohioans are wondering how they’re going to put food on the table or keep the lights on, but Vivek’s billionaire buddies are spending millions to buy their friend a governorship,” said Innovation Ohio President Michael McGovern. “When so few of them even live here, you have to wonder what’s in it for them?”

Ramaswamy’s biggest donor is Jeffrey Yass, who has spent millions on pro-school voucher candidates who share his aim of dismantling public schools. He donated $20 million to V-PAC and Politico just announced yesterday that he’s making another eight-figure contribution.

Yass is not the only donor that comes with an agenda. For example, as owners of major Ohio sports franchises, Jimmy and Dee Haslam and Dan Gilbert regularly seek state subsidies. Palmer Luckey founded high-tech defense corporation, Anduril, which received more than $830 million in state money to build a 5-million-square-foot weapons manufacturing facility in Central Ohio. Dayton-area billionaire Larry Connor operates more than 13,000 apartment units. He made his fortune by buying underperforming properties, aggressively raising rents and selling them for a profit. Connor founded a private school in Dayton that relies on school vouchers for funding. Elon Musk worked with Ramaswamy to dismantle huge parts of the federal government through DOGE. Musk’s business ventures (much like Ramaswamy’s) depend on the proliferation of data centers. See table for full donor list below.

“Many of the billionaires backing Vivek’s run for governor got rich by holding down wages, rigging the rules, and driving up costs,” McGovern said. “We need a governor who will fight for every Ohioan to live comfortably, care for our loved ones, and provide our children with opportunities to follow their dreams – not for his billionaire buddies to get richer.”