Patel was born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He earned a B.A. in political science from Stanford University in 2005. He then received a J.D. from the New York University School of Law in 2009. In 2014, Patel earned his master of philosophy from the University of Cambridge. Patel has served as the president of the Sun Group of Companies since 2011. He has been a founding team member of The Arena since 2016. He was also co-founder of Creative Caucus in 2016. Patel has also served as an adjunct professor of business ethics at the NYU Stern School of Business since 2015 Patel (Democrat) was a candidate for New York's 12th Congressional District in the U.S. House in 2018 and 2020. Suraj Patel (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent New York's 12th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 23, 2022.