[176] Affiliated with the Alliance for School Choice, the AFC describes itself as "a leading national advocacy organization promoting school choice, with a specific focus on advocating for school vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs". [156][157], After the announcement of the DeVoses' gift to the Kennedy Center, DeVos explained that she had been persuaded by Kennedy Center official Michael Kaiser's observation that millions of dollars are invested "in the arts, and training artists", but not in "training the leaders who hire the artists and run the organizations". DeVos cited Indiana (which has the U.S.'s largest school voucher program) as a potential model for a nationwide policy, but did not give specific proposals. [99] On May 22, 2017, DeVos announced the Trump administration was offering "the most ambitious expansion" of school choice within American history. I hear it from business people everywhere I go in this state. He co-authored Believe! with Charles Paul Conn. [42], Rick and Betsy DeVos married in 1979, and have four grown children: Rick, Elissa, Andrea, and Ryan. [24], He died at his home in Ada, Michigan on September 6, 2018, at the age of 92.[9][33]. The company was at number 42 on the Forbes 2018 list of United States largest privately owned companies and was the number one company on the 2018 list of Direct Selling News Global 100. [51] Democratic senators raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest and questioned whether she and her family members would "benefit financially from actions" she could take as the U.S. Secretary of Education. DeVos ran for governor of Michigan in 2006, but lost to Democrat Jennifer Granholm. "DeVos said she was thinking about the couple's interest in education and her husband Dick's love of flying. [59], Former presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney respectively called DeVos an "outstanding pick" and a "smart choice". DETROIT . Joy Meek, a principal of Wheeler Kearns, the Chicago architecture firm that designed the Superior Street house, did not respond to a request for comment. Grandpa Dekker had been an immigrant from the NetherlandsDutch in origin, like the word huckster itself. [179], Ramesh Ponnuru of National Review argued that Harris overstates the failure of charter schools in Detroit. DeVos, Richard M. Amway co-founder and Orlando Magic Senior Chairman Richard M. DeVos died September 6, 2018, at his home in Ada, Michigan. Ponnuru pointed out that the study says "some 47 percent of charter schools in Detroit significantly outperform[ed] traditional public schools in reading and 49 percent of charters significantly outperforming traditionals on math. [120] The organization held a meeting on March 28 and a gathering of school shooting survivors and families on April 17. DeVos stature within the Republican Party continued to grow. ", In answer to the question of why it was a charter school, DeVos explained that "Charter schools are available to everyone. A charter school is a public school and therefore there's no tuition. Sway in State Contests", "U.S. Panel on AIDS, Citing Challenges, Ousts Staff Chief", "At 83, Amway co-founder Richard DeVos prepares company's third generation, addresses church, gay-marriage concerns", How MLive analyzed DeVos family's $90.9 million in annual donations, "M. and Helen DeVos Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation", Richard DeVos Philanthropic Impact Reflected by Hope Campus, Sport Business About the DeVos Foundation, "Amway co-founder Richard DeVos dies at 92", Majority team owners in the National Basketball Association, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_DeVos&oldid=1135078359, Businesspeople from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Women's National Basketball Association executives, American members of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 22 January 2023, at 14:21. [20] As of October 27, 2006, the DeVos campaign had spent $39 million, of which nearly $35 million was DeVos's own money. Dick DeVos has spent his business career working in a variety of executive positions at Amway, the NBA's Orlando Magic, and The Windquest Group where he currently serves as its President. In the 1960s and '70s, DeVos believed that those values were under threatfrom the rise of the welfare state and the decline of religion to the Soviet threat and the spread of communism in Southeast Asia. The Education Department has hired more ex-employees and people affiliated with those institutions, such as Robert S. Eitel, senior counselor to DeVos, Diane Auer Jones, an advisor to the department, and Carlos G. Muiz, the department's general counsel. DeVos retired as president of Alticor in August 2002. ADA, Mich. Billionaire Richard DeVos, co-founder of direct-selling giant Amway, owner of the Orlando Magic and father-in-law of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, died Thursday . He attended Calvin College and upon graduating, served in the US Army Air Corps during the Second World War. Richard M. DeVos married Helen Van Wesep on 7 February 1953 and the couple had four children; three sons Richard Jr. or Dick DeVos, born in 1955, Dan DeVos born in 1959 and Doug DeVos born in 1964, and a daughter Suzanne Cheri DeVos. [103], On April 11, 2017, DeVos undid several Obama administration policy memos issued by John King Jr. and Ted Mitchell which were designed to protect student loan borrowers. Sheathed in white-veined black stone and twice the size of most neighbors on Superior Street, the house is five stories tall, including a striped penthouse that opens onto a rooftop deck. "[46], During the Republican Party presidential primaries for the 2016 election, DeVos initially donated to Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina before eventually supporting Marco Rubio. The church, son Dick DeVos said in 2001, has been displaced by the public school.. They continued to run the dealership and by 1958, the duo had managed to build a network of more than five thousand distributors. When he was 16 years old he took a job at Rolscreen, in Pella, Iowa, on the loading dock. Suzanne, also known as Cheri is the only daughter of Richard DeVos. He also served on the board of trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, which is a museum dedicated to the U.S. Meanwhile, Amway had bought Nutrilites controlling shares in 1972 and full ownership of the company by 1994. And it meant a country where personal responsibility and belief in yourself were two sides of the same coin. DeVos provided examples of several charter schools that she said had 4-year graduation exceeding 90%. The investigation into DeVry was not the only one stopped, others include those of Bridgepoint Education and Career Education Corporation. Among Donald Trumps historically rich cabinet members, Betsy DeVos is the richest. The DeVos Family Foundation invests in initiatives that create pathways to opportunities, support the healthy growth of children and families, and cultivate thriving communities. He was an honorary trustee of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation. "[7], DeVos received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Northwood University. DeVos was born Elisabeth Prince on January 8, 1958. [9][10] Her brother, Erik Prince, a former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, is the founder of Blackwater USA. Family spokesman Nick Wasmiller says DeVos died at his Ada, Michigan, home due to complications from an infection. [169][170] DeVos was not named in the case. Published by E.P. Born on March 04, 1926 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA , United States (96 years) Born on March 04 36. Clark asked if she would inform Indiana that it could not discriminate in that way if it accepted federal funding, and asked her how she would respond in the event a voucher school rejected black students but a state "said it was okay." "[45][26] She also stated in the op-ed, "We expect to foster a conservative governing philosophy consisting of limited government and respect for traditional American virtues We expect a return on our investment; we expect a good and honest government. 351 richest person in the world, with a net worth of approximately US$5.4billion. Dick was born on 21 October, 1955. Among its grantees are Kids Hope USA; the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital; the West Michigan Aviation Academy; the Regional Air Alliance of West Michigan; Mars Hill Bible Church; Potter's House; Grand Rapids Christian Schools; the Thunderbird School of Global Management; Willow Creek Association; ArtPrize Grand Rapids; the Education Freedom Fund; the Hugh Michael Beahan Foundation; Children First America; Florida P.R.I.D.E; New Urban Living; Rehoboth Christian School; Calvin College; Princeton University; Davenport University; Grove City College; Hope College; Little Star Inc.;[34] the American Education Reform Council; and Choices for Children. After her television appearance, the Department of Education promoted her Fox News interview. In 2012, Forbes magazine listed him as the 60th wealthiest person in the United States, and the 205th richest in the world, with an estimated net worth of $5.1 billion. In 1984, he became one of Amway's vice presidents, with overall responsibility for the company's operations in 18 countries. ", He also called for an increase in "funding for secondary and higher education," for a streamlined health-care system "that utilizes technology to reduce hospital errors by making medical records more efficient," and for " strong anti-crime measures, specifically against child predators." "Whether it has been Granholm's campaign morphing images of DeVos into President Bush, or DeVos's ads including compromising footage of the governor's speeches, neither candidate has found a way to gain an advantage. They met in Grand Rapids, married, and eventually grew their family to include four children: Dick, Dan, Cheri, and Doug. He added that "This is the kind of school that I would have loved to have had if I was a kid. A huckster as president? 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