History · Sprint B
Amway Founders & 1959 History (Sourced)
Looking for a sourced overview of how Amway began in 1959? This page summarizes company-published history about co-founders Richard (Rich) M. DeVos and Jay Van Andel—both deceased. It is a history/reference piece, not a recruiting pitch and not an income or lifestyle proof page.
Disclosure: Independent Amway™ Business Owner — Johan Nilsson, US IBO #6638846. Not an employee of Amway. Amway is a trademark of Amway Corp. This site is not an official Amway website.
One reader decision: open Amway’s official founders / origin pages (and related newsroom sources) for primary wording—and treat this article as a dated map with citations.
Likeness note (compliance): This draft uses text history only. No living-leader photos, voice, avatars, or “brand face” imagery. Deceased founders are discussed with primary Amway / newsroom sources.
Soft CTA (official history hubs)
Amway.com — Founders and Origin (Insider)
Shop Amway products (optional)
The 1959 founding (company-published)
Amway Global’s founders page states that Rich DeVos and Jay Van Andel co-founded Amway Corp in 1959.
From Amway Global — Rich DeVos profile:
In 1959, Rich co-founded Amway Corp with his good friend and business partner, Jay Van Andel.
From Amway Global — Jay Van Andel profile:
In 1959, Jay co-founded Amway Corp with his good friend and business partner, Rich DeVos.
That year is the anchor for this article. For deeper origin narratives (early partnerships, product lines, geographic expansion), prefer Amway’s live Insider / Our Story pages—corporate storytelling can be updated over time.
Who the founders were (sourced bios, high level)
Rich DeVos (1926–2018)
Per Amway Global founders materials and Amway Global newsroom:
- Born 1926 (Amway Global founders page notes outside Grand Rapids / Ada, Michigan; newsroom bio notes March 4, 1926, Grand Rapids).
- Attended Grand Rapids Christian High School, where he met Jay Van Andel; later Calvin College; United States Army Air Force service in the mid-1940s (founders page).
- Co-founded Amway Corp with Van Andel in 1959.
- With wife Helen, supported philanthropic institutions in Grand Rapids (examples named on Amway Global founders page include Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital and other civic projects).
- Also known publicly as owner/chairman of the NBA’s Orlando Magic (founders page / newsroom).
- Died September 6, 2018 (Amway Global newsroom: Richard M. DeVos, co-founder of Amway, dies, posted September 11, 2018). Newsroom states he was 92 and died at home in Ada, Michigan.
Amway Global founders page includes this attributed line:
“We were just two guys from Ada, Michigan, USA, who wanted to have a business of their own.”
Jay Van Andel (1924–2004)
Per Amway Global founders materials:
- Born 1924 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
- Attended Grand Rapids Christian High School (met Rich DeVos); Calvin College; Pratt Business School; United States Army Air Force officer service in the 1940s.
- Co-founded Amway Corp with DeVos in 1959.
- Served as chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce from 1979 to 1980 (founders page).
- With wife Betty, founded the Van Andel Institute and supported civic projects named on Amway Global’s founders page (e.g., Van Andel Arena, museum center).
- Died December 7, 2004 (Amway Global founders page).
Amway Global founders page includes this attributed line:
“Amway gets people into a new life of excitement, promise, profit, and hope.”
Editorial note: Quotes above are reproduced from Amway Global’s public founders page for attribution. This article does not turn those quotes into personal income guarantees, typical-results claims, or lifestyle proof for readers.
Friendship before the company (newsroom context)
Amway’s September 2018 newsroom remembrance of Rich DeVos describes a high-school friendship with Jay Van Andel that began with a practical arrangement—rides to school—and later early ventures after World War II (flight school; early restaurant interests) before the 1959 Amway founding. Treat the newsroom article as the primary narrative for those pre-1959 details rather than paraphrasing beyond what Amway published.
Primary link: Richard M. DeVos, co-founder of Amway, dies.
What this history page is for (and not for)
Use this page to:
- Orient on 1959 as Amway’s co-founding year.
- Find official Amway Global / Amway.com history hubs quickly.
- Cite deceased founders with death dates from company sources.
Do not use this page as:
- Income disclosure, pin-level proof, or “you can build what they built” persuasion.
- A gallery of living executives or leaders as the brand face.
- A competitor comparison or legitimacy slogan page (“not a pyramid” framing is banned under claim-pack v0-LEGAL).
For how Amway describes its product-sales model today, prefer Amway Insider / How Amway Works pages—and if earnings ever appear elsewhere on this site, Amway’s mandatory Income Disclosure Statement language must be used verbatim per Legal claim-pack. This history draft contains no earnings figures.
Soft CTA (inline)
Curious about products that exist today (separate from 1959 history)?
Account how-tos (login / Amway ID) are separate articles—history here stays history.
Timeline (quick reference)
| Year / date | Event | Source type |
|---|---|---|
| 1924 | Jay Van Andel born (Grand Rapids) | Amway Global founders |
| 1926 | Rich DeVos born (Michigan) | Amway Global founders / newsroom |
| Mid-1940s | Military service (both; Air Force) | Amway Global founders |
| 1959 | Amway Corp co-founded | Amway Global founders |
| 1979–1980 | Jay Van Andel chairs U.S. Chamber of Commerce | Amway Global founders |
| 2004-12-07 | Jay Van Andel dies | Amway Global founders |
| 2018-09-06 | Rich DeVos dies (Ada, MI) | Amway Global newsroom |
Succession of living family board roles is published on Amway sites; this draft intentionally does not feature living persons with photos, voice, or likeness as a brand face. For current corporate leadership listings, use Amway’s own Leadership / Insider pages directly.
Sources (primary first)
- Amway Global — Our Founders (Rich DeVos & Jay Van Andel)
- Amway Global Newsroom — Richard M. DeVos, co-founder of Amway, dies (2018-09-11)
- Amway.com Insider — Amway founders and origin
- Secondary context only (not Claim Source for product claims): public encyclopedic bios may corroborate dates—prefer Amway primary links above when they conflict.
Drafted 2026-09-08. If Amway updates founders pages, prefer the live corporate URLs.
Soft CTA (footer)
Our Founders (Amway Global) · Shop Amway
Disclosure: Independent Amway™ Business Owner — Johan Nilsson, US IBO #6638846. Not an employee of Amway. Amway is a trademark of Amway Corp. This site is not an official Amway website.