On Friday, Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos released a summary of financial information in an effort to head off calls for DeVos to publicly release his income tax returns. For the past few months, DeVos has refused to release his income tax returns in a break from precedent in previous Michigan gubernatorial races. While there is no law requiring candidates to release their income tax information, candidates have traditionally done so in order for journalists and the public to understand where any conflicts of interest may lie. DeVos has refused to release his tax returns and has withheld information stating his net worth while Democratic candidate Jennifer Granholm has stated that she will release her tax returns after April 17.

However, the financial release does make it abundantly clear that DeVos is incredibly wealthy and has little in common with many in Michigan. The Lansing State Journal described DeVos as the wealthiest gubernatorial candidate in Michigan’s history and other media reports accurately placed DeVos within the top income tax bracket. DeVos and his wife, Betsy DeVos, paid an average federal income tax of 17% on dividends and long-term capital gains and 37% on ordinary income and short-term income taxes from 1997 to 2004, placing them in a tax bracket occupied by the wealthiest 1% of taxpayers. Similarly, the couple paid state income taxes of 3.95% to 4.4% over the same period. According to the information released by DeVos, 64% of his income comes from dividends and compensation from Alticor (formerly Amway Corporation) and 36% from other investments. DeVos was president of Alticor from 1993 to 2002 but has, according to information from his campaign, received no money from the corporation since 2004 although he and his wife retain significant financial interests in the company.

DeVos, who owns homes in Ada, Michigan, Holland, Michigan, Harbor Springs, Michigan, Vero Beach, Florida, and “partial interest” in a home in Snowmass, Colorado, also has significant interest in real estate development projects including the Cherry Street Landing and Michigan Street Development LLC (the Michigan Street hospital corridor) as well as various commercial real estate holdings in Ada Holdings LLC, RDV Corporation (downtown office building), Lakeshore Dunes LLC (land in Arcadia and Laketown Township), and Fox Property Holdings LLC/GR Group LP/RDV Cape Eleuthera Ltd (resort property in the Bahamas). DeVos and his wife also hold controlling interests in a variety of companies including MVP Sportsplex-GR LLC (health club facilities in Grand Rapids), Orlando Magic Ltd. (NBA franchise), Orlando Sportsplex Ltd. (multi-use health club and office facility), RDV Corp. (DeVos family investment management and family office in Grand Rapids), Spout LLC (online DVD sales and marketing company in Grand Rapids), Windquest Companies Inc. (manufacturer of organization and storage systems in Holland), and Windquest Group Inc. (investment holding company in Grand Rapids). DeVos and his family also have “significant but less than controlling interest” in Alticor Global Holdings Inc. (Ada-based parent company of Amway Corp., Quixtar and Access Business Group), Activa Holdings LLC (Grand Rapids-based owner of West Michigan area real estate), and Activa Management LLC (Grand Rapids-based operator of travel service, third party benefits provider, and a downtown Grand Rapids hotel franchise). Additionally, DeVos has a variety of investments in privately held corporations including American Medical Instruments Holdings, CorePharama LLC (makers of generic drugs), and West Michigan Baseball Ltd Partnership (West Michigan Whitecaps), and publicly held corporations including Apple Computer, Centennial Bancorp, and Fifth Third Bancorp.

While the information gives a good idea of the wealth and scope of DeVos’ investments, it does not list the dollar amounts nor does it draw any connections between his investments, charitable contributions, and lobbying efforts. The document lists his holdings in Alticor and Activa Management LLC as being his only potential conflict of interest as those hotel companies occasionally provide conference facilities on a rental basis. Similarly, in reporting on DeVos’ finances there is no discussion of how his financial contributions act to facilitate continued profits or how his “charitable” contributions act to advance his conservative views. According to the document, DeVos and his wife donated to 449 organizations from 1997 to 2004 including conservative organizations promoting "free market ideologies" and conservative religious causes including the American Enterprise Institute, the Acton Institute, Americans United for Life, Baptists for Life, Focus on the Family, Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce, Heritage Foundation, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Michigan Family Forum, Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, Right to Life Michigan, the Ronald Regan Presidential Foundation, and Young Life. Moreover, donations to political candidates and committees are excluded from the list, despite the fact that the DeVos family role has taken an active role in promoting conservative ideologies through the financing of electoral efforts. In 2004, DeVos and his family contributed $199,825 to Republican candidates and organizations including President George W. Bush, Representative Vern Ehlers, Republican parties and committees across the country, and various conservative groups such as Right to Life. DeVos’ wife, Betsy, gave $19,306 in 2000 and $6,000 in 2004 while serving as chair of the state Republican Party. Already in the 2006 election cycle, DeVos’ family has made significant contributions ($97,200 as of press time) to Republicans and Republican candidates including the Kent County Republican Committee and Representative Vern Ehlers.