Richard DeVos, Sr. (born March 4, 1926, Grand Rapids, Michigan) is an American businessman, co-founder of Amway (restructured as Alticor in 2000), and owner of the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team. In 2009, Forbes magazine listed him as the 61st wealthiest person in the United States with an estimate net worth of USD$ 4.2 billion. In 2010, "Forbes" ranked him as the 176th richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $4.5 billion. (At one point, he was in the top 10 of wealthiest Americans).
DeVos 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!.
He sat on the board of trustees of Northwood University and has sat as president on the Council for National Policy. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, which is a museum dedicated to the U.S. Constitution.