Vivek Ramaswamy, a millionaire even before accepting the Soros scholarship, faced criticism for receiving a $90,000 award from the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.

This fellowship, created by Daisy and Paul Soros, the late brother of liberal billionaire George Soros, supported Ramaswamy's law school education. Ramaswamy clarified that the scholarship he won was a merit-based one funded by Paul Soros, not George Soros. Needless to say, at the age of 24, it would have been unwise to decline such an opportunity.

When Ramaswamy accepted the fellowship in 2011, he was already a first-year law student at Yale and had previously worked as an investment analyst at the hedge fund QVT Financial for several years.

His tax returns showed that in 2011, he reported $2,252,209 in total income, with a cumulative income of $1,173,690 in the three years prior. Tricia McLaughlin, Ramaswamy's campaign spokesperson, emphasized that the scholarship Vivek received was a common one awarded to numerous students pursuing graduate degrees. She also highlighted that this particular scholarship was funded by a relative of the late George Soros.