Betsy DeVos is an interesting political personality in the United States of America. Many believe that she is President Trump’s, right-hand man. Who would claim such a thing when Betsy and her husband are among the wealthiest in the United States. Betsy was appointed Secretary of Education by Donald J. Trump when he became President of the United States, but apart from her position in the United States, we want to introduce you to her private life and activities, which include her family, her brother, her husband, her children and her assets.
Betsy DeVos Bio
Betsy DeVos was born on 8 January 1958 as Elisabeth Dee DeVos in Holland, Michigan, as the daughter of her parents Elsa Zwiep and Edgar D. Prince. Her father was the owner of the Prince Corporation, a major supplier of auto parts in the United States, and earned his billions before his death in 1997. Betsy is of Dutch descent, and she has a younger brother, Erik Prince. Since she comes from such a wealthy family, she has many privileges. Betsy attended Holland Christian High School in Michigan and graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and business administration. During her school years, Betsy was actively involved in school politics and later became a member of the US Republican Party.
Family, Husband, Children
Betsy DeVos has a nice family that she’s proud of. Since she comes from a family with wealth and prosperity, she also married a husband with the same family tree. Dick DeVos, her husband is an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was born Richard Marvin “Dick” DeVos Jr. and graduated from Northwood University with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. He wanted to study at Harvard Business School and the Executive Study Programs of the Wharton School but dropped out without completing his academic studies. In 1974, Dick DeVos began working with his family business, Amway Corporation and became Vice President in 1984. His tenure as Vice President of the company was a great success for the company, as he multiplied sales to a 50% growth rate and expanded into over 50 countries. In 1993, Dick DeVos and his wife became chairmen of the Education Freedom Fund (EFF), a fund that helps poor parents by giving them money to send their children to the best schools in the country. Since then they have continued this campaign.
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Betsy DeVos and her husband Dick have been actively involved in politics, business, and philanthropic activities. In 2005, he ran for governor in Michigan under the Republican party program but lost to his Democratic Party opponent. They have investment shares in Neurocore, a company that treats patients with autism, anxiety, depression, and attention deficit disorder.
The couple has four children who are already grown up. Richard “Rick” Marvin DeVos III, Elizabeth “Elissa” DeVos, Andrea DeVos, and Ryan DeVos. Due to the level of education, they have received, their children are doing well for themselves in society. Rick is a graduate of Calvin College and founder of ArtPrize, an annual, internationally recognized art competition for artists held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Elissa is a Princeton University graduate and married to Nate Lowery, a Michigan entrepreneur, while Andrea is a co-founder of Woosh Beauty and Ryan is a strategic specialist for the Orlando NBA team – Orlando Magic.
Her Only Brother – Erik Prince
Betsy DeVos comes from an extended family of large and accomplished businessmen and women. Her only sibling and younger brother, Erik Dean Prince, is an American businessman, co-founder of the Blackwater Security Service, and former naval officer (U Navy Seal). He attended the United States Naval Academy but left without a degree, graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Hillsdale College. His father traveled a lot with him to concentration camps, and what he saw fuelled his passion for a private army to help in emergencies. In 1990, he was one of the volunteers searching for the mass grave in Nicaragua. After graduating from college in 1992, he was appointed US Navy Seal. In 1995 his father died and Prince left the Navy to take care of his father’s business. In 1997, he founded Blackwaters, a security company, of which he was CEO until the company was sold in 2010. The company was responsible for sending private armies into the war under the supervision of the U.S. government supervision to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The company became the largest private security firm and awarded several contracts worth billions of dollars.
During the 2016 presidential elections, Erik Prince was spotted in Seychelles at a secret meeting with the United Arab Emirates to establish a channel between the US and Russia. Erik Prince denied the allegation that he had no connection to Trump, but it was claimed that he had donated $250,000 to Trump’s campaign organization, claiming that no one knew whether these allegations were true. Erik Prince is now chairman of the Frontier Resource Group, an equity firm.
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Betsy DeVos Net Worth
Betsy DeVos belonged to the Winquest Group and made a significant contribution to education through the distribution of voucher programs. She was the leader of the Republican Party in Michigan from 1996-2000 and won re-election. She also served as chairperson of the Action Institute and the Alliance for School Choice. Betsy believes that even low-income earners should be supported to give their children the best possible private education, and this privilege should not be reserved for the rich alone.
When talking about the assets of the US Secretary of Education, one cannot overlook the fact that both she and her husband Dick DeVos comes from super-rich families. Her husband will inherit a quarter of his father’s over $6 billion fortune (as one of four children). We are talking about over $1.5 billion. It is on record that Betsy DeVos owns 10 boats, four planes, and two helicopters. She travels for all her official meetings on her private plane and does not apply for a refund.
Betsy earned a total of $53,962,468 and $134,894,706 between January 2016 and June 2017, according to the public disclosure form provided to the Office of Government Ethics. And although she is a Level 1 employee of the U.S. Government, a position with an annual salary of about $200,000, she chose to receive $1 as her annual income.
