Andrew Yang
A tech-savvy entrepreneur turned political insurgent who thrust the idea of Universal Basic Income into the American mainstream.
Born 1975 (age 51)·American businessman and politician·Birthday: January 13·Generation X
Biography
Andrew Yang emerged as one of the most unexpected and defining political voices of the late 2010s, a businessman who reframed economic anxiety for the digital age. Born in 1975 to Taiwanese immigrants, he followed a classic Ivy League and corporate law path before pivoting to entrepreneurship, founding a test-prep company and later a nonprofit focused on job creation. His political awakening came from witnessing the devastating impact of automation on American workers, which led to his central policy: the Freedom Dividend, a universal basic income of $1,000 a month for every adult. Launching a long-shot 2020 Democratic presidential campaign, Yang's data-driven, optimistic message and loyal 'Yang Gang' following turned him into a phenomenon. Though he didn't win the nomination, he successfully planted UBI in the national conversation. Post-campaign, he shifted to founding the Forward Party, aiming to create a centrist, reform-oriented coalition to challenge America's two-party system, continuing his role as a disruptor of political norms.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Andrew was born in 1975, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Andrew Was Born
The biggest hits of 1975
#1 Movie
Jaws
Best Picture
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
#1 TV Show
All in the Family
Andrew's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1975Born
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1980Started school
John Lennon shot and killed in New York
Gas: $1.19/galHome: $47,200Min wage: $3.10/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Call Me" — BlondieBest Picture: Ordinary People
1988Became a teenager
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Could drive
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
1993Could vote
European Union officially established
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $86,600Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"I Will Always Love You" — Whitney HoustonBest Picture: Schindler's List
1996Turned 21
Dolly the sheep cloned
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $99,700Min wage: $4.75/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Macarena" — Los del RioBest Picture: The English Patient
2005Turned 30
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
2015Turned 40
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
2025Turned 50
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
2026Age 51 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Founded Venture for America, a nonprofit fellowship program that placed top graduates in startups across struggling American cities.
- Mounted a surprisingly influential 2020 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, popularizing Universal Basic Income (UBI).
- Authored the bestselling book 'The War on Normal People,' which laid out the case for UBI and the threats of automation.
- Co-founded the Forward Party in 2021, a new political organization aimed at electoral reform and breaking the two-party duopoly.
- Was named a 'Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship' by the Obama administration in 2015.
Did You Know?
He is a graduate of Brown University and Columbia Law School, where he was an editor of the 'Law Review.'
He is a massive fan of the New York Mets and has thrown out ceremonial first pitches at their games.
His campaign slogan 'MATH' stood for 'Make America Think Harder,' a nod to his analytical approach.
He was the first Asian American man to run for the Democratic presidential nomination.
He briefly hosted a podcast called 'Yang Speaks' where he interviewed a wide range of thinkers and politicians.
““The opposite of Donald Trump is an Asian man who likes math.””
