Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy sold $33 million in shares of the company he founded, with plans to use some for his campaign as the Iowa caucuses approach.
Ramaswamy sold 3 million shares of Roivant Sciences at around $11 each earlier this week, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A spokesperson for Ramaswamy confirmed new Axios reporting that he’ll use some of the funds to make a “significant investment” in his campaign.
The 38-year-old White House hopeful founded the biotech company Roivant in 2014, aiming to revive drugs stuck in development from other pharmaceutical companies. With a subsidiary, he controversially touted a potential Alzheimer’s drug that was found not to help patients, The Associated Press reports.
Ramaswamy was previously the company’s CEO and stepped down from its board of directors last year as he launched his White House bid.
Ramaswamy’s campaign did not share further details about how the proceeds from the stock sale would be spent, but the move comes less than two weeks before voting kicks off with the Iowa caucuses — seen as a critical window for candidates to stand out and cut into the lead held by former President Trump.
The Hill/Decision Desk HQ polling average shows Ramaswamy at just 4.4 percent support nationally in the Republican primary, while Trump leads with 64.1 percent.
Ramaswamy has been largely self-funding his campaign but has also turned to some unique tactics along the campaign trail to bring in donors — announcing at one point that he’d offer a 10 percent commission to supporters who fundraise for his campaign.