Richard M. DeVos, co-founder of Ada, Mich.-based...

Richard M. DeVos, co-founder of Ada, Mich.-based Amway Corp., said he is retiring at age 66 after suffering heart problems for the last half-year.

His eldest son, Dick DeVos, will succeed him as president of the direct marketing company. The younger DeVos, 35, rejoins Amway after a three-year hiatus.

The elder DeVos has been planning his retirement since July, when he suffered a mild stroke, he said in a statement. A heart attack and subsequent open-heart surgery earlier this month confirmed the decision, he said.

The younger DeVos was vice president of international operations when he left Amway in 1989 to start the Windquest Group, a management and investment company.

Amway co-founder Jay VanAndel, 68, remains Amway’s chairman. He said he has no plans to retire.

DeVos and VanAndel started Amway in their homes in 1959 with the direct sale of a single household cleaning product. Within three decades, they built the business into a multibillion-dollar international corporation with more than 2 million independent distributors and 10,000 employees.