GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) — Jay Van Andel, the co-founder of Amway Corp. who helped parlay neighborhood soap sales into a billion-dollar business and later became a leading philanthropist for conservative causes, has died. He was 80.
Greg McNeilly, executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, said Tuesday that Van Andel had died but did not give the cause of death. Van Andel had Parkinson's disease, a disorder of the central nervous system that involves a degeneration of nerve cells in parts of the brain.
"We're deeply saddened by the loss of a man of great integrity who has been a strong Republican supporter for a number of years," said McNeilly, speaking on behalf of state GOP Chairwoman Betsy DeVos. DeVos is married to Dick DeVos, a former Amway official whose father, Richard DeVos, co-founded Amway with Van Andel.
Amway made its fortune by relying on a worldwide network of independent, mom-and-pop distributors to sell products ranging from furniture polish to burglar alarms, and to recruit other distributors.
The company now operates in more than 80 countries and territories around the world, with 13,000 employees and millions of distributors.