密歇根新闻广播 安利公司创始人之一德沃斯去世,享年92岁

Richard DeVos, co-founder of the direct marketing¹ company Amway and father-in-law of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, has died. He was 92.

Richard DeVos was a billionaire, one of the richest men in Michigan for decades. But he came from humble² beginnings. Because of his rags to riches success story, DeVos was fond of saying that anyone could succeed if they had the right tools and enough encouragement.

"You can do it. You can do it. It does pay. You can get ahead," DeVos told a group of young leaders at a conference in 1966. His popular "Selling America" speech was released on vinyl in 1967.

"My dad used to say that to me. I used to say 'oh I can't do this, I can't do that.' And he'd say 'you say can’t once more and I'll knock your block right through that wall," DeVos told the crowd.

DeVos was born in 1926 in Grand Rapids to Dutch immigrants. They lost their home during the Great Depression. DeVos served in World War II.

Then he and his school buddy³, Jay Van Andel, started businesses; several business. Mostof them failed. But then, in 1959, the two started what would become the world’s largest direct selling company.

Amway, short for the American Way, sold concentrated, bio-degradable cleaning solution. But there wasn’t an Amway store. You had to buy it from your Amway seller.

Check out this tune⁴ from legendary⁵ singer, Pat Boone, on how it works.

DeVos really believed if people had enough encouragement and a seed investment, one of these little kits⁷ with vitamins and shampoos to sell, it was possible for them to make something of themselves.

"To take a little kit⁶ and make a beginning and discover freedom and give them a little hope," DeVos said, "Do all of them make it? No. But that's not the key. The key is that the door was open so that they can make a beginning and lives are changed."

Amway faced a number of legal challenges over the years, but the business continues to flourish, despite some lingering assertions that's it's just a giant pyramid scheme. The multi-billion-dollar business is still privately⁸ held by the DeVos and Van Andel families.

Arguably one of the biggest benefactors⁹ of Amway's success is the city of Grand Rapids. Walk almost anywhere downtown and you’re bound to find a building named after Richard DeVos.

He made key investments back when Michigan's second largest city was dubbed¹⁰ "Bland¹¹ Rapids." Those investments have helped revitalize the city. His donations to the arts, schools, churches and hospitals in West Michigan go back decades.

"They're the kind of family that has done a lot for our community and we should be proud of their work," Congressman¹² Justin Amash (R-Grand Rapids) said in a 2014 interview with Michigan Radio.

Amash has had DeVos' backing for years, even when other Republicans turned on Amash for his independent, libertarian streak¹³.

"Also I'm proud of the fact that they really only ask that I represent the whole district to the best of my ability. I can't say the same for some other people in the district who have come to me and asked for special favors," Amash said.

DeVos once served as the finance chairman for the Republican National Committee. Over the decades, he and several of his family members contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to conservative political causes.

"In this city I hear a lot comments about the evils of giving" DeVos told a group of Republican members of the U.S. Senate and House in 1998.

"Somehow it's wrong for us in the private sector¹⁴ to give a lot. Like success is supposed to be sinful. Like poverty is virtuous¹⁵. But that's the America that I know and that I believe in," he said.

"When we give generously to politics because it represents the same cause of giving people hope and freedom then it's (considered) evil. And I'm sorry; I make no apologies for our giving to politics," DeVos concluded.

Later in life, DeVos focused a little less on business and politics.

He was a deeply religious man, belonging to the Grand Rapids-based Christian¹⁶ Reformed Church. Over the last several years, he was much more open about trying to get people to accept Jesus Christ as their savior.

1 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

2 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

3 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

4 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

5 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

6 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

7 kits   

衣物和装备( kit的名词复数 )； 成套用品； 配套元件

参考例句：

• Keep your kits closed and locked when not in use. 不用的话把你的装备都锁好放好。
• Gifts Articles, Toy and Games, Wooden Toys, Puzzles, Craft Kits. 采购产品礼品，玩具和游戏，木制的玩具，智力玩具，手艺装备。

8 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。

9 benefactors   

n.捐助者，施主( benefactor的名词复数 )；恩人

参考例句：

• I rate him among my benefactors. 我认为他是我的一个恩人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We showed high respect to benefactors. 我们对捐助者表达了崇高的敬意。 来自辞典例句

10 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 bland   

adj.淡而无味的，温和的，无刺激性的

参考例句：

• He eats bland food because of his stomach trouble.他因胃病而吃清淡的食物。
• This soup is too bland for me.这汤我喝起来偏淡。

12 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

13 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

14 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

15 virtuous   

adj.有品德的，善良的，贞洁的，有效力的

参考例句：

• She was such a virtuous woman that everybody respected her.她是个有道德的女性，人人都尊敬她。
• My uncle is always proud of having a virtuous wife.叔叔一直为娶到一位贤德的妻子而骄傲。

16 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。