Monitoring the Rich and Powerful in Grand Rapids – Segment #11: Dick DeVos says God loves work, plus a Housing Summit featuring wealthy developers

One of the 10 principles of journalism is that it must serve as an independent monitor of power.

Now, I don’t claim to be a journalist, more of a media watchdog, but I do engage in movement media. Movement media is reporting and documenting what social movements are doing, which is what I have been trying to do with GRIID since 2009.

However, since I have been monitoring what I call the Grand Rapids Power Structure for nearly two decades, it seems like a good idea to do a Monitoring the Rich and Powerful in Grand Rapids segment.

There are two issues in this segment of Monitoring the Rich and Powerful in Grand Rapids that I want to draw attention to.

First, the thoughts and beliefs that members of the Capitalist Class are always instructive, and infuriating. In a recent article by Dick DeVos, entitled God Loves Work, the eldest son of Rich DeVos shares his insights around the subject of work. Here are three excerpts:

But work, in all eras, is inherently meaningful and important to life. In my book Rediscovering American Values, I wrote some years ago now that too many children were never taught the value or dignity of hard work. That concern feels even more urgent today, as social media and AI increasingly promote an alternative and often dismissive view of work, and all too often frame success as more the result of “good timing” or “luck” than diligence, patience, and hard work.

If our attitude toward our work is right and we still don’t derive satisfaction from it, it may be that what we are doing does not line up with our God-given talents. I believe that we are called by God to utilize the skills He gave us to perform certain kinds of work. When we perform our work with integrity, it becomes a form of ministry. My faith teaches me that all work should be done for the glory of God. Therefore, all work is significant regardless of its financial reward.  

My parents gave me a firm foundation when they taught me the joy of utilizing my God-given talents and working to the best of my ability. And no matter how menial the task seemed, it was significant, whether I was weeding the flower beds or scrubbing the bathroom floor. Now having been blessed with success, I must work even harder to achieve new goals.

It is worth acknowledging that Dick DeVos was born into a family that was already wealthy. Dick took over for his father to help run the Amway Corporation, then transitioned to being co-founder of the Windquest Group, which owns multiple businesses you can find here.

Dick DeVos has contributed millions to political candidates during his adult life, which has generally benefited him through buying politicians who will support legislative policies that benefit his financial interests.

Dick also has multiple homes (one with a helicopter pad), several planes, yachts and lots of other material assets. Dick and his family made money off of the labor of others, as all capitalists do, yet he thinks we all will somehow benefit from his insights into work. The arrogance of wealth.

The second example of the rich and powerful in Grand Rapids comes to us via the GR Chamber of Commerce-created group Housing Next. Housing Next recently hosted someone from the American Enterprise Institute to talk about housing construction policies that would primarily benefit developers.

Housing Next has also announced a Housing Summit on August 6th. The keynote speaker is Keynote Coby Lefkowitz, Author of Building Optimism, who cofounded a real estate development firm in 2021. The summit will also feature Sam Cummings, Managing Partner of CWD Real Estate Investment, who will talk about “regional housing trends.”

At a Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce event this past Spring, Sam Cummings talked about a state law that was adopted in 2023, which amended the Brownfield Redevelopment Financing Act. This amendment made housing development projects, like the One Eleven Lyon project eligible for brownfield capture. Cummings made these remarks at the Spring conference held by the GR Chamber of Commerce, which contributed to LaGrand’s campaign for Mayor and subsequence campaigns for State Representative, which is nothing more than influence peddling by people like Cummings, who has a long history of using public funds to expand his wealth.

Sam Cummings also supported the ordinances that Grand Rapids adopted in 2023 that criminalized the unhoused, plus Sam Cummings has a long history of public looting.