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Richard "Dick" DeVos, Jr. is a businessman and politician from Michigan. The son of billionaire Amway founder Richard DeVos, he is currently a candidate for governor of Michigan.
Personal Information
Dick DeVos is married to the former Betsy Prince, of Holland, Michigan, and has four children. He graduated from Forest Hills Public Schools and received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Northwood University in Midland, Michigan. He has received Honorary Doctorates from Grove City College as well as Central Michigan University, and has attended both Harvard and Wharton School’s Executive Study Programs.
His wife is the former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party. Betsy and Dick have four children: Rick, Elissa, Andrea, and Ryan. Rick graduated from Calvin College, while Elissa is an undergraduate at Princeton University. Ryan recently graduated from and Andrea is still attending highschool. The family current resides in Ada, Michigan, near the west Michigan city of Grand Rapids.
Business History
Dick DeVos is President of The Windquest Group, a private investment company he founded in 1989. He is the former President of Alticor Inc., where for the ten years prior to his retirement in August, 2002 he held responsibility for all aspects of operation and strategic planning for Alticor, as well as its subsidiary companies Amway Corporation, Access Business Group, and Quixtar operating in more than 50 countries and territories on six continents. Alticor is engaged in direct selling, e-commerce selling, product development, manufacturing and logistics. In his final fiscal year ending August, 2002, Alticor reported sales of $4.5 billion, primarily through its more than 3.5 million mostly part-time sales force and its complimentary e-commerce channel.
Dick began working with Amway Corporation in 1974, holding positions in various divisions, including Research and Development, Manufacturing, Marketing, Sales, and Finance. In 1984, he became Amway's Vice President - International, with responsibility for the company's operations in 18 countries. Under his leadership, the company opened new markets and tripled international sales to exceed domestic sales for the first time in company history.
In 1989, Dick left Amway to start a new business venture and founded The Windquest Group, a multi-company management group involved in the manufacture and marketing of storage and space utilization products. When the DeVos family acquired the NBA's Orlando Magic basketball franchise in 1991, Dick also became President and CEO of the team. He left both positions in January 1993 to rejoin Amway as its President, succeeding his father, Amway co-founder Rich DeVos.
Current Posts and Present Board Memberships
- President, The Windquest Group, 2002-present
- Chairman, Board of Directors, World Federation of Direct Selling Associations, 2002-present (Board Member since 2000)
- Governing Board, Orlando Magic, 1994-present
- Member, Board of Trustees, Thunderbird, The Gavin School of International Management, 2003-present
- Member, Board of Directors, Willow Creek Association, 1997-present
- Member, Michigan Business Roundtable, 1997-present (Co-Chairman, 1997; Chairman, 1998)
- Member, Board of Trustees, Blodgett/Butterworth Health Care Foundation; 1994-present (Board Member since 1990)
- Co-Chairman, Grand Action Committee, 1992-present (Chairman, Grand Vision Committee, 1991-1992)
- Member, Board of Directors, Education Freedom Fund, 2005-present (Chairman, 1994-2005)
2006 Gubernatorial Candidacy
On June 2, 2005, at Mackinac Island, DeVos announced he was a candidate for governor of Michigan. He is considered to be the richest man to run for statewide office in Michigan history.
Since announcing his candidacy, he has been to all 83 Michigan counties, and started a week-long statewide bus tour on May 1, 2006.
Focus of the Campaign
The campaign has so far focused on the economy, as Michigan has had one of the worst unemployment rates in the country. Opponents of Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm allege that every other state has gained jobs over the last year except Michigan, which has suffered due to close ties with automobile and other manufacturing industries. They further claim one job has been lost every 20 minutes during Granholm's term.
Critics of DeVos are quick to respond that this cannot be solely Granholm's fault, because the Republicans have control of both the Michigan House of Representatives and the Senate.
They also claim that DeVos outsourced 1,400 jobs to China. However, the DeVos campaign has maintained that more than 300 high paying jobs were created in Michigan to support the expansion of Alticor into China, and no product produced in China is even shipped to the United States. DeVos also says that no American job went to a Chinese worker. This would show that Alticor has not directly outsourced jobs, but is growing into a global company. It is unclear whether the company considered exporting goods from Michigan to China.
Single Business Tax
Granholm has also been attacked for allegedly supporting Michigan's single business tax (SBT), something that no other state uses. However, Granholm has publicly stated that she does not support the SBT, but rather opposed plans by the Republican-controlled legislature to eliminate the tax without replacing the lost revenue.
On the SBT, DeVos said: "The SBT taxes job makers for providing jobs and benefits and investing in equipment. There is no other tax in the nation like it. The job-killing SBT is a 'stick out' tax that makes Michigan 'stick out' to job makers in a bad way. I had a chance to meet with Jim Kodis this week, a job maker at Regal Finishing in Coloma. Would you believe that over the last six years Jim has had to pay 77 percent of his profits to the SBT? Seventy-seven percent. That's over three-fourths of Regal's profits that could have gone to back to the business, creating jobs and providing benefits. But instead, the SBT ate most of the profits and forced Jim to do more with less. That means fewer jobs for people in Coloma and fewer jobs for people all over Michigan because of the SBT."
Current Gubernatorial Polls
Buoyed by two months of unchallenged television advertisements, DeVos leads Granholm 46 percent to 45 percent in a statewide EPIC/MRA poll taken May 11, 2006.
2006 Republican primary
DeVos has no opponent in the primary election, which will be held August 8.
He was originally facing two other Republicans; state Representative Jack Hoogendyk of Portage and state Senator Nancy Cassis of Novi, both dropped out by summer 2005.
A political unknown, Louis Boven tried to challenge him in the primary, but failed to meet Michigan election requirements to get on the ballot.
Lieutenant governor prospects
Some Republican insiders consider Hoogendyk, Cassis, and Michigan House of Representatives Speaker Craig DeRoche the top choices for lieutenant governor for DeVos. Cassis and DeRoche both come from the voter rich and economically wealthy Oakland County. As speaker of the house, DeRoche already has a name recognized throughout the state. Other names include current Republican U.S. Senate candidates Michael Bouchard, Keith Butler and Jerry Zandstra.