As boys, he and his brother Doug were "tapped as mini-hosts", assigned to greet attendees at Amway's annual conventions, and they "helped out with everything from clearing plates during gatherings to ferrying guests to play tennis or waterski.

[8][9][10] His wife, Betsy DeVos, is the former chairperson of the Michigan Republican Party and the former Secretary of Education under President Donald Trump.

[11][12] DeVos began working with Amway Corporation in 1974, holding positions in various divisions, including research and development, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and finance.

[13] Larry Guest of the Orlando Sentinel wrote in a September 1991 column that "civic and business leaders in Grand Rapids" considered DeVos "admirable, amicable, compassionate, honorable, community-conscious, intelligent", but that they wondered whether DeVos, who was about to begin running the Orlando Magic, was "strong enough...to make the tough decisions necessary as the chief operating officer overseeing... an NBA franchise?"

Guest answered yes, calling DeVos "a business and political specialist experienced far beyond his 35 years on this globe" and noting that he had "recently attracted more than a million votes, more than any other Republican on a statewide basis, to win a seat on Michigan's Board of Education."

[16] A 2010 article reported on a Windquest venture called The Green Machine, which "converts waste heat that's the byproduct of a manufacturing process – in liquid or gaseous form – into electricity."

Windquest was not interested in "glitzy and glamorous" ideas, he said, but in "technologies that were environmentally sound and economically sustainable" and thus more likely to be widely adopted.

"[17] In 1990, DeVos won election to the Michigan State Board of Education, and resigned two years into his eight-year term, citing his return to Amway as CEO as the reason.

campaign committee, which sponsored a ballot-initiative that would have amended the Michigan constitution to allow vouchers and tuition tax credits for private K-12 education.

He also spoke of the need to "work on trade issues to make sure that Detroit's automakers can compete fairly both here in the United States and around the world.

"[23] Thomas Bray of RealClearPolitics reported on June 21, 2006, that incumbent Jennifer Granholm was "in deep trouble," with DeVos surging "to a 48–40 lead...in a Detroit News/WXYZ-TV poll."

Bray's conclusion was that "the DeVos ads are striking home with their message: that the Michigan economy is in a shambles, that Granholm has failed to develop a strategy to resurrect the state and that a hard-nosed businessman who owes nothing to anybody is just the guy to sort things out.

While lacking Granholm's "flashier qualities," DeVos's "business background...ideally suits him to address the state's most vexing economic issues."

It called for action on four fronts: "creating an attractive job climate, overhauling state government, diversifying the economy, and conquering the international marketplace."

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."

The article noted that debates between DeVos and Granholm had "done little to help either's cause, though they did have an effect on the polls," with support for both candidates dropping and the number of undecided voters increasing.

"Granholm went for the jugular talking about an investment he had in a nursing home," and "DeVos's lackluster response opened the door that led to his eventual loss."

Years later, DeVos said: "I learned I needed to be better at expressing my opinions more directly and forcefully....My mother taught me to be respectful and polite, but sometimes I took that advice too far.

They argued about the role of unions, with DeVos taking the position that "Workers and job creators, through hard work, ingenuity, sweat and risk-taking, literally made the strongest economy in the world and the greatest standard of living in history...The greatest generation...did not just win a World War, they labored shoulder-to-shoulder with fellow workers to create and sustain value-added enterprises."

Bush...The wealthy businessman and the political guru both worked to persuade wavering Republican lawmakers by assuring them they would have financial support if they faced recall elections over right-to-work, as happened in Wisconsin.

"[4] In a talk given in Washington, D.C., in January 2013, under the auspices of The Heritage Foundation, DeVos discussed the passage of so-called "Right to Work" legislation in Michigan.

Among its grantees are Kids Hope USA; the Helen DeVos Children's Hospital; the West Michigan Aviation Academy; Mars Hill Bible Church; Potter's House; Grand Rapids Christian Schools; the Thunderbird School of Global Management; ArtPrize Grand Rapids; Rehoboth Christian School; Calvin College; Princeton University; Davenport University; Grove City College; and Hope College.

It offers "practical training to arts managers and board members on stages of professional development in the United States and around the world"; its centerpiece is the "Capacity Building programs, which offer technical assistance to arts managers and their boards through seminars, web chats, and on-site consultations."

The gift was the largest private donation in the Kennedy Center's history and part was to be spent on arts groups in Michigan hit hard by the recession.

[42] An account of the Grand Action project explains that while authorities in Detroit kept initiating "one master project after another" that was supposed to solve that city's problems, and that never did, Grand Rapids was different, because its "business leaders painstakingly set goals, aligned with government officials, generated support, and empowered key players."

"[43] DeVos and his wife contributed money to help fund a $500,000, 18-month private study of Lake Macatawa pollution sources, according to a June 2011 article.

The study would "use DNA fingerprinting technology pioneered recently at Michigan State University to identify specific sources of E. coli in different areas of the lake.

"We are fortunate to have skilled scientists, committed conservationists and highly qualified academicians in West Michigan addressing this problem," DeVos told the Sentinel.

[45] In September 2010, the Spectrum Health Foundation presented DeVos with its Art of Giving Award at its annual celebration of philanthropy.

DeVos and his wife have four children: Richard Marvin (Rick) III, Elisabeth (Elissa), Andrea, and Ryan, and eight grandchildren.