Jay Van Andel, 80; Amway Co-Founder, Philanthropist
Jay Van Andel, the co-founder of Amway Corp. who helped parlay a neighborhood soap sales business into a billion-dollar firm and later became a philanthropist for conservative causes, died Tuesday in Ada, Mich. He was 80.
Van Andel died at his home in Ada, just east of Grand Rapids, of apparent heart failure, said Casey Wondergem, executive director of the Jay and Betty Van Andel Foundation. Van Andel was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease about nine years ago.
With his partner, Richard DeVos, Van Andel created Amway, a direct-sales company that relied on a worldwide network of independent, mom-and-pop distributors to sell products such as laundry detergent, household cleaners and burglar alarms.
The company now operates in more than 80 countries and territories around the world, with 13,000 employees and millions of distributors.
Van Andel was born June 3, 1924, in Grand Rapids. He attended Calvin College in Grand Rapids; Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa; Pratt Business School in Kansas; and Yale University Aviation Cadet School in New Haven, Conn. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.
Van Andel and DeVos founded Amway in their basements in 1959 with an all-purpose cleaner, L.O.C., as their only product.
Over four decades, they built their business into a multibillion-dollar international corporation and one of the world’s largest direct-selling companies.
The two men became generous philanthropists to Christian and conservative political causes, giving a combined $95 million between 1990 and 1998 alone.
Van Andel, who ranked 140th on the Forbes magazine list of the 400 wealthiest Americans, also reshaped his hometown of Grand Rapids over the years.
In 1978, Amway bought the 65-year-old Pantlind Hotel, restored it, added a 29-story tower and reopened it in 1981 as the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. A downtown arena opened in 1996 and was named for Van Andel after his foundation donated $11.5 million toward its $75-million cost. The Van Andel Museum Center was added later.
Van Andel resigned as chairman in 1995 and was succeeded by his son, Steve. DeVos resigned as president after a heart attack in 1992 and was succeeded by his son, Dick. The founders’ sons shared the newly created office of chief executive of Amway.
Amway was grouped with Quixtar Inc. and Access Business Group under the parent, Alticor, in 2000. Alticor Inc. had worldwide sales of $6.2 billion for the year that ended Aug. 31.
Van Andel’s wife of 52 years, Betty, died in January. In addition to his son Steve, he is survived by another son, David; daughters Nan and Barbara; and 10 grandchildren.
