The Wealth and Deception of Betsy DeVos

One good thing about Betsy DeVos being chosen as Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of Education, is that we are now getting some glimpses of the vast amount of wealth she and her husband Dick have.

On Friday, MLive reported that Betsy DeVos, “in a letter to ethics officials at the U.S. Department of Education, said she would divest from 102 entities within 90 days of her confirmation.” 

This is one of the first times we have seen this level of disclosure from any member of the DeVos family. MLive even posted the letter that Betsy DeVos send to ethics officials at the Department of Education, which included the list of entities she claims she would divest from. This disclosure is required by the federal government, but it is worth reading. 

MLive, however, did not provide any additional information on the companies that Betsy DeVos currently has investment in, nor of the entities that she is either a trustee of or a director of. MLive also failed to mention what seemed obvious in the Senate confirmation hearings, where she said that the 990 form that listed her as on the board of her mother’s foundation (Elsa Prince) was a “clerical error.” Jeremy Scahill, author of the book on Betsy’s brother’s former mercenary group, Blackwater, made it clear that Betsy lied during the confirmation hearing. 

In the most recent 990 (2015) provided on Guidestar, Betsy (Elizabeth) DeVos is clearly listed as a Vice President of her mother’s foundation, as you can see below.

In addition to the letter that Betsy DeVos sent to the ethics officials at the Department of Education, we were able to find another document, which also lists entities that she has either investments in, is the director of or a trustee of. This list is much more detailed and actually provides (in some instances) the value of the entity and the income that Besty DeVos gets from her association with said entity. You can find that document here, which we encourage our readers to share.