The founder of Amway Corp. gave $1 million to the Republican Party last month, one of the biggest single contributions ever by an individual donor.
Richard DeVos, a longtime Republican supporter said to be worth $3.2 billion, and his wife, Helen, wrote two $500,000 checks on April 2 from their personal accounts, Federal Election Commission records state.DeVos, 71, is overseas awaiting a heart transplant and could not be reached for comment. But a company official said he gave the money after GOP party leaders asked for help in whittling away millions in debts racked up during last year's election.
"He's had conversations with party leaders," said John Gart-land, head of governmental affairs. "They have a debt, and he wants to be helpful."
The Republican Party says it still has $5.5 million in debt from the last election.
DeVos and other wealthy donors are allowed to give unlimited amounts of money to the political parties under the so-called soft money provision, now under heavy criticism as the investigation into political fund-raising abuses broadens.
Soft money accounted for much of the $3 million returned by the Democratic Party because of concerns it came from illegal foreign sources.
Ordinarily, individuals are limited to giving no more than $20,000 a year to a political party and $2,000 to any one candidate in an election cycle under the post-Watergate campaign finance laws. Corporations are barred from making donations.
But under the soft money provision, corporations, unions and wealthy individuals can give unlimited amounts to the parties, provided the money is used for political activities such as get-out-the-vote drives and not directly for candidates.
The single largest soft money donation on record was $2.5 million from DeVos' Amway in 1994. But that donation came from corporate funds. Seldom does an individual give a seven-figure sum in one month. In 1995-96, the single largest checks were $500,000 each from two individuals, the FEC said.
DeVos' donation - which made up a quarter of the Republican National Committee's $4 million soft money receipts in April - comes with the next national elections still 18 months away and both parties bracing for campaign fund-raising investigations.
"I find it amazing that the party leaders would even contemplate accepting such an amount at this time," said Kent Cooper, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that studies campaign financing.