Rich was born 4 March 1926 in Grand Rapids, Michigan
He is one of the founders of Amway which was reorganized as Alticor in 2000. Alticor now distributes billions of dollars worth of personal care and home products in 80 countries.

He has been the recipient of a heart transplant which took place in England.

He is the owner of the pro basketball’s Orlando Magic and formerly the Orlando Miracle. His son-in-law, Bob VanderWeide, will take ownership of the Orlando Magic near the end of 2005.

He recently donated 20 million dollars to build the DeVos Place Convention Center in Grand Rapids, MI

He is past president of the Council for National Policy and was a large donor in the 2004 US election for the Republican party. Rich sits on the board of trustees of Northwood University and donated funds for their graduate school, which carries his name. He was honored by Northwood in 1983 as an Outstanding Business Leader. DeVos also donated money to the Progress For America fund.

He is known as President of the company which was fined the largest amount that a Canadian court ever levied in a criminal case during the seventies. Amway was charged with defrauding the Canadian government out of millions in tax revenues. Amway attributed the issue to their unconventional business model. They were found guilty.