Richard DeVos

Richard DeVos
DeVos visting the White House, 1975
Born	Richard Marvin DeVos (1926-03-04) March 4, 1926 (age 90) Grand Rapids, Michigan, US
Known for	Amway founder, owner of NBA's Orlando Magic
Net worth	US$5.1 billion (January 2017)
Spouse(s)	Helen June (Van Wesep) DeVos
Children	Dick DeVos Dan DeVos Cheri DeVos-Vanderweide Doug DeVos

Richard Marvin DeVos Sr. (born March 4, 1926) is an American businessman, co-founder of Amway along with Jay Van Andel (company restructured as Alticor in 2000), and owner of the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team. 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. At one point, he was one of the 10 wealthiest Americans.

DeVos was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the son of Ethel Ruth (Dekker) and Simon Cornelius DeVos, who worked in the electrical business. He was educated at Calvin College and is a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity. He served in the military in World War II in the United States Army Air Corps.

Books written by him include Compassionate Capitalism and Hope From My Heart: Ten Lessons For Life. The latter reflects his feelings after successfully undergoing a heart transplant operation in 1997. This was preceded by two heart-bypass operations in 1983 and 1992. In 1975, DeVos published a book about his success, co-authored with Charles Paul Conn, titled Believe!.

DeVos is the owner of the NBA team Orlando Magic, having bought the team in 1991. DeVos bought the Magic for $85 million. He became interested in the team after an unsuccessful effort to acquire a Major League Baseball expansion franchise for Orlando. DeVos also formerly owned the Orlando Solar Bears, Grand Rapids Griffins, and the Kansas City Blades, three International Hockey League franchises before that league folded; the Solar Bears and Blades were closed as a result of the league folding, while the Griffins moved to the American Hockey League, and are now under the ownership of Dan DeVos, one of Richard's sons. In 2011, it was announced that DeVos planned to revive the Solar Bears as an expansion franchise for the ECHL. The new franchise took the ice in October 2012.