Jay Van Andel, Amway co-founder who championed conservatism, capitalism, dies at 80
December 7, 2004, 3:24 PM
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- Jay Van Andel, a co-founder of Amway Corp. who helped parlay neighborhood soap sales into a billion-dollar business and later became a leading philanthropist for conservative causes, has died. He was 80.
He died Tuesday at his home in Ada, just east of Grand Rapids, according to Amway's parent company, Alticor Inc. The cause of death was not disclosed but Van Andel had Parkinson's disease, a disorder of the central nervous system that involves a degeneration of nerve cells in parts of the brain.
His wife, Betty Van Andel, died Jan. 18 at 82 at the family home on Peter Island in the Caribbean. She had Alzheimer's disease and had been in declining health for some time.
Jay Van Andel and Amway co-founder Richard DeVos reshaped their hometown of Grand Rapids over the years with their investments and donations. Many of the buildings and institutions in Michigan's second-largest city bear one of their names.
"Obviously we were very close to him. He's going to be sorely missed," said DeVos' daughter-in-law, state GOP Chairwoman Betsy DeVos.
The Van Andel and DeVos families gave a combined $95 million between 1990 and 1998 alone.
"We are all saddened by the passing of Jay Van Andel, who was a great family man and a worldwide leader in the business arena," said former President Ford, who grew up in Grand Rapids and was a close friend of Van Andel.
Amway now operates in more than 80 countries and territories around the world, with 13,000 employees and millions of distributors. Privately held by the Van Andel and DeVos families, Alticor Inc. -- formed as Amway's parent company in a 2000 reorganization -- reported sales of $4.1 billion the following year.
Alticor had worldwide sales of $6.2 billion for the year ending Aug. 31, 2004, $1.3 billion more than in 2003, the largest increase year-to-year in the direct-selling company's history. The company said Asia -- and China in particular -- continued to be its primary market and the top region for sales growth.
The Federal Trade Commission charged in 1969 that the Ada-based company was an illegal pyramid, but ruled after a six-year investigation that it wasn't.
The company also has been controversial because of its almost evangelical zeal in promoting free enterprise, and gained attention with DeVos' and Van Andel's high-profile participation in Republican politics.
Much of Van Andel's giving went toward Christian causes, including a creation research station in rural Arizona...