As one of the most talked-about figures, Richard Devos has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.
What Was Richard DeVos' Net Worth?
DeVos was a donor to the Republican Party and conservative causes such as Focus on the Family and the American Enterprise Institute, and he donated money to the campaigns ofNewt GingrichandRick Santorum. He was a finance chairman for the Republican National Committee, and in 1987, he was appointed to the President's Commission on the HIV Epidemic by PresidentRonald Reagan. At the time, Richard earned criticism for saying that people with AIDS wanted "special treatment," and in a 2009 interview with "The Grand Rapids Press," when DeVos was asked why he donated $100,000 to an effort to prevent gay marriage from being recognized in Florida, he responded:
Richard DeVos was an American businessman and author who had a net worth of$6 billion at the time of his death in 2018. Richard DeVos co-founded the multi-level marketing company Amway with Jay Van Andel in 1959, and he owned the NBA team the Orlando Magic. In 2000, Amway was restructured as Alticor, and in 2019, Amway and its sister companies accrued $8.9 billion in sales, making it the world's largest multi-level marketing company in terms of revenue. In 2017, DeVos was ranked #107 on "Forbes" magazine's list of the 400 richest people in America, and in 2018, the publication ranked him #351 on its "World's Billionaires List." Richard wrote several books, including "Believe!" (1975), "Compassionate Capitalism" (1993), "Hope from My Heart: 10 Lessons for Life" (2000), and "Simply Rich: Life and Lessons from the Cofounder of Amway: A Memoir" (2014). DeVos died on September 6, 2018, at the age of 92.
"Because I believe in it. That's just a sacred issue of respecting marriage. It was not an anti-gay thing. I have been hung in effigy by the gay community for a long time, from when I was on President Reagan's first AIDS commission."
When his military service was over, Richard returned home, where he launched several businesses with his high school friend Jay Van Andel. They started a hamburger stand, a sailing business, and an air charter service, and in 1949, they signed up to be distributors of a nutritional supplement company called Nutrilite. In 1959, DeVos and Van Andel founded their own multi-level-marketing firm, Amway (American Way Association). Their first product was an organic house cleaner. They bought the rights to the product and distributed it through their sales channels. Over the next 50 years, Amway expanded to unfathomable heights, and in 2022, "Forbes" ranked it #53 on its list of "America's Largest Private Companies," with a revenue of $8.9 billion. Richard served as the company's president until 1993. DeVos bought the Orlando Magic NBA franchise for $85 million in 1991 after unsuccessfully trying to secure an MLB expansion franchise for the city. He had previously owned the International Hockey League franchises the Grand Rapids Griffins, Orlando Solar Bears, and Kansas City Blades. The Orlando Magic play at Amway Center, which opened in 2010.
Richard was a close friend ofGerald Ford, and he was an honorary pallbearer at Ford's state funeral and was involved with the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation as an honorary trustee.
Richard DeVos was born Richard Marvin DeVos on March 4, 1926, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was the son of Dutch Americans Simon Cornelius DeVos and Ethel Ruth Dekker, who were employed in the electrical business. Richard attended Grand Rapids Christian School, then he enrolled at Calvin College, where he joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity. During World War II, DeVos served in the United States Army Air Corps.
Richard served on the board of trustees for Philadelphia's National Constitution Center and Michigan's Northwood University, and he was the president of the conservative organization the Council for National Policy. He also was a member of the Christian Leaders Institute legacy board. DeVos published several books, and in his 2000 book "Hope from My Heart: 10 Lessons for Life," he reflected on his experience of undergoing a heart transplant in the U.K. in 1997 after being turned down in the U.S. due to his age and the fact that he had diabetes. In 2014, he published "Simply Rich: Life and Lessons from the Cofounder of Amway: A Memoir," in which he wrote about "work, faith, family, and the core values he's held on to, from his humble, Christian upbringing through his enormous success as cofounder of one of the world's largest businesses: Amway."
Ultimately, Richard Devos's financial journey is a testament to their success.
Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.
