Profession: Co-founder of Amway
Biography: Richard DeVos was an American businessman who co-founded the multi-level marketing company Amway (now known as Alticor) with Jay Van Andel in 1959. The company sold cleaning products and later expanded to distribute goods worldwide.
DeVos was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, to Dutch American parents who worked with electrical equipment. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II prior to entering into business.
He became very wealthy from Amway, although the company has been criticized as a pyramid scheme and even banned from India due to their business practices. In 2012, Forbes said he was the 60th richest person in the United States with an estimated net worth of $5.1 billion.
In 1970, DeVos and his wife Helen started a foundation that supported education, healthcare, the arts and conservative political causes. DeVos donated large sums of money to the Republican Party over the years.
He served for a period as the finance chairman for the Republican National Committee. DeVos was also close friends with former President Gerald Ford and his wife Betty Ford and, when Ford died, DeVos was an honorary pallbearer at his funeral.
In 1991, DeVos bought the Orlando Magic NBA team in 1991 for $85 million. He had previously tried to get a Major League Baseball team in Orlando but failed to do so.
After being denied a transplant in the United States as he was deemed too old and unhealthy, DeVos went to the United Kingdom for a heart transplant in 1997. He wrote about this experience in his book "Hope From My Heart" (1997).
Born: March 4, 1926
Birthplace: Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA
Generation: Greatest Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Tiger
Star Sign: Pisces
Died: September 6, 2018 (aged 92)
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