Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign spent nearly $12,000 at one of Puerto Rico’s most exclusive luxury resorts in November 2025, according to campaign finance records first reported by Meidas News.
Filings with the Ohio Secretary of State show the Ramaswamy campaign paid $11,898.25 to the Dorado Beach Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Dorado, Puerto Rico. The expenditure was listed as “travel.”
The Dorado Beach resort, built on 50 acres of the former Rockefeller estate, is among the most exclusive luxury properties in the Caribbean. A one-bedroom suite at the resort can cost as much as $5,820 per night, according to reservation listings reviewed by Meidas News. Ramaswamy’s net worth is estimated at $2.2 billion, according to Forbes.
The spending came ahead of the ITServe Alliance’s Synergy 2025 conference in Puerto Rico, where Ramaswamy, a billionaire, had been scheduled to deliver a keynote address in early December 2025. ITServe Alliance is a tech industry organization that has advocated for changes to H1-B visa policy, including increasing the annual visa cap and reducing certain restrictions on foreign worker visas.
Ramaswamy withdrew from the conference shortly before it took place after online conservative backlash targeting the group’s immigration positions. Campaign Manager Jonathan Ewing announced the withdrawal on X, citing a video from a prior ITServe event in which a speaker criticized former President Donald Trump.
Campaign spokesperson Connie Luck told Signal Ohio that Ramaswamy had planned the trip independently of the conference. “We had several finance events scheduled in PR and Vivek was going to speak because we were planning to be down there anyway,” Luck said.
Despite pulling out of the conference, Ramaswamy remained at the resort. On Dec. 8, he posted to Instagram showing himself playing pickleball at the Dorado Beach property with social media influencers Logan Paul and Jake Paul. Meidas News reported that the courts visible in the background of the post match the resort’s sports hub facilities.
The trip also coincided with financial ties between Ramaswamy’s political operation and the conference’s host organization. ITServe Alliance contributed $100,000 to Ramaswamy’s super PAC, Victors Not Victims (V-PAC), on Nov. 18, 2025, followed by an additional $175,000 on Dec. 1. V-PAC refunded the full $275,000 on Dec. 3, two days after the backlash began.
Ramaswamy, a Trump-endorsed Republican, is running for governor of Ohio against Democrat Amy Acton in the November 2026 general election. He is seeking to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Mike DeWine.
Under Ohio campaign finance law, campaign funds are permitted to be used for expenses related to campaign activity, including travel. The Ramaswamy campaign has not publicly addressed whether the resort stay served a specific campaign purpose beyond the conference appearance from which the candidate withdrew.
