From a $2.3 billion Ohio gubernatorial candidate to Silicon Valley billionaires and influential political donors, here’s a look at Indian Americans whose wealth and political involvement have put them in the national spotlight.
Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign for Ohio governor has brought a distinctive combination of wealth, entrepreneurship and politics to the forefront.
READ: Vivek Ramaswamy promises free power near Ohio data centers (August 6, 2026)
Ramaswamy, the Republican nominee for Ohio governor, is worth an estimated $2.3 billion, according to Forbes’ latest report. His fortune has risen from an estimated $1.8 billion a year ago and about $1 billion in March 2025. If elected in November, Forbes says he would become America’s second-richest governor and third-wealthiest elected official, behind President Donald Trump and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. But Ramaswamy is not the only Indian American whose business success has intersected with American political life.
Here is the comprehensive list:
1. Vivek Ramaswamy: $2.3 billion and a bid for Ohio governor
Ramaswamy is currently the clearest example of an Indian American entrepreneur moving directly from the billionaire ranks into electoral politics.
Forbes estimates his wealth at $2.3 billion as of September 2026. His fortune is closely connected to his holdings in Roivant and other investments. The son of Indian immigrants, Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He studied biology at Harvard and later earned a law degree from Yale. Before entering politics, he worked at hedge fund QVT and founded Roivant, whose business model involved acquiring and developing pharmaceutical assets.
His political profile expanded rapidly during the 2024 Republican presidential campaign. After ending that campaign, he became associated with Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative and subsequently launched his Ohio gubernatorial campaign.
Forbes reported in September that Ramaswamy’s Democratic opponent Amy Acton has made his wealth a campaign issue, while Ramaswamy has publicly embraced his financial success.
2. Vinod Khosla: $11.2 billion and a major voice in technology policy
Vinod Khosla represents a different route to political influence. The India-born billionaire is the co-founder of Sun Microsystems and founder of Silicon Valley venture capital firm Khosla Ventures. Forbes estimated his net worth at $11.2 billion as of September.
Khosla is not an elected official, but he has become an influential participant in U.S. political and policy debates, particularly around technology, artificial intelligence, climate and entrepreneurship. His political involvement has included major financial support for Democratic candidates and causes. During the 2024 presidential campaign, Forbes reported that Khosla was among wealthy Democratic donors discussing the party’s presidential options and had publicly expressed views about the Democratic nomination process.
3. Shalabh Kumar: Billionaire entrepreneur and Trump political ally
Shalabh Kumar is another prominent example of an Indian American businessman becoming deeply involved in U.S. politics. The Chicago-based entrepreneur became particularly visible during Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Kumar founded the Republican Hindu Coalition and served as chairman of Trump’s Indian American Advisory Council. He became one of Trump’s most prominent Indian American supporters and helped organize outreach to Hindu and Indian American voters.
The New Yorker reported in 2016 that Kumar had donated nearly $1 million to Trump’s campaign and had developed a close political relationship with the Republican nominee.
4. Romesh Wadhwani: Billionaire entrepreneur with political philanthropy
Romesh Wadhwani is another Indian-born American billionaire whose business career has intersected with political philanthropy. Wadhwani built his fortune through software and technology companies. He sold Aspect Development to i2 Technologies in a transaction valued at approximately $9.3 billion in stock and later built Symphony Technology Group into a major technology investment platform.
Forbes previously estimated his fortune at several billion dollars. He has also been involved in political giving. Forbes reported that Wadhwani and his wife Kathleen contributed to Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign.
5. Nikki Haley: Indian American political power without a billionaire fortune
Nikki Haley does not belong in the billionaire category, but she is essential to any discussion of Indian American political influence in the United States.
The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley served as governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and later became Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations. Forbes notes that she was the first Indian American to serve in a U.S. presidential cabinet. Haley went on to seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024, putting her among the most nationally prominent Indian American politicians in U.S. history.
6. Kamala Harris: Indian American political history at the highest level
Kamala Harris represents another major milestone in Indian American political history. Born in Oakland, California, to a mother from India and a father from Jamaica, Harris became the first woman, first Black person and first South Asian American to serve as vice president of the United States.
Before becoming vice president, she served as a U.S. senator from California and as California’s attorney general and district attorney of San Francisco. Forbes estimated Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, had a combined fortune of about $7 million in 2021, based largely on real estate, pensions and retirement accounts.
7. Ro Khanna: Silicon Valley wealth and national politics
Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, represents another important intersection between Indian American success in technology and electoral politics.
Khanna represents Silicon Valley in Congress and has built a national profile around technology, manufacturing, artificial intelligence and economic policy. Unlike Ramaswamy, Khanna’s wealth is not measured in billions. His significance to this list comes from his position in one of the country’s most economically powerful congressional districts and his connections to the technology industry.
8. Raja Krishnamoorthi: Business background and a long congressional career
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, a Democrat from Illinois, has combined a business background with a significant congressional career.
Krishnamoorthi has represented Illinois’ 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House since 2017 and has become one of the more visible Indian American members of Congress. His career has included work on technology, national security, education, immigration and economic issues. He has also been active in efforts involving the Indian American and broader Asian American communities.
9. Pramila Jayapal: Progressive political influence
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, represents another major strand of Indian American political leadership.
Jayapal was born in Chennai, India, immigrated to the United States and became a U.S. citizen before entering electoral politics. She served in the Washington State Senate before being elected to Congress. She became the first South Asian American woman elected to the U.S. House and has held leadership positions within the Democratic caucus.
Broader Indian American political-business network
The intersection between Indian American wealth and politics extends beyond elected officials. Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, technology executives, doctors, investors and business owners have increasingly become political donors and policy advocates. Forbes, for example, has identified Vinod Khosla and Romesh Wadhwani among wealthy Indian American donors participating in national political fundraising.
READ: Nalin Haley goes nuclear on Vivek Ramaswamy (December 31, 2025)
That influence matters because Indian Americans have moved from being primarily represented in professional fields such as medicine, engineering and technology to occupying increasingly visible positions in government, electoral politics, venture capital and national political fundraising.
Ramaswamy’s rise is unusual because he combines all three: billionaire entrepreneur, national political figure and current statewide candidate. Wealth and political influence are not the same thing. The people on this list occupy very different positions.
Ramaswamy is a billionaire seeking elected office. Khosla is a billionaire technology investor who participates in political debates and fundraising. Kumar became an influential Republican donor and advocate. Wadhwani has participated in political philanthropy. Haley, Harris, Khanna, Krishnamoorthi and Jayapal built their influence primarily through public office.Their fortunes, political affiliations and policy positions differ considerably.