Betsy DeVos Bio
Elisabeth Dee DeVos (born January 8, 1958) is an American politician, philanthropist, and former government official who served as the 11th United States Secretary of Education from 2017 to 2021. A prominent Republican activist, she is best known for championing school choice, charter schools, and voucher programs. Across nearly four decades in public life, DeVos built a reputation as a leading conservative donor and party organizer in Michigan before rising to a national cabinet role. Her tenure as Secretary of Education was marked by intense political controversy, and she resigned on January 7, 2021, following the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack.
Early Life and Background
Elisabeth Dee DeVos was born Elisabeth Prince on January 8, 1958, in Holland, Michigan. She is the eldest of four children born to Edgar Prince, a billionaire industrialist who founded the Prince Corporation, an automobile parts supplier, and Elsa (Zwiep) Prince, later Broekhuizen. DeVos is of Dutch ancestry, and she grew up as a member of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, a tradition that has shaped her political outlook and philanthropic priorities.
DeVos attended Holland Christian High School, a private school in her hometown. She later enrolled at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in business economics in 1979. During her college years, DeVos became active in campus politics, volunteered for Gerald Ford’s 1976 presidential campaign, and attended the 1976 Republican National Convention through a program for young Republicans. These early experiences laid the foundation for her future work within the Republican Party.
Path to US Politics
DeVos began her formal involvement in the Michigan Republican Party in 1982. She was elected as a local precinct delegate and held that post for 16 consecutive two-year terms beginning in 1986, demonstrating sustained commitment to grassroots organizing. From 1992 to 1997, she served as the Republican National committeewoman for Michigan, deepening her influence within state and national party circles.
Alongside her growing party involvement, DeVos turned her attention to education reform. In the 1990s, she and her husband, Dick DeVos, worked for the successful passage of Michigan’s first charter-school bill in 1993. She also served on the boards of organizations such as Children First America and the American Education Reform Council, both of which promoted school choice through vouchers and tax credits. These activities positioned her as one of the country’s most visible advocates for expanding parental choice in education.
Betsy DeVos Career
Early Career (1982–2000)
DeVos’s early political career centered on the Michigan Republican Party, where she steadily rose through the ranks. After serving as Republican National committeewoman for Michigan from 1992 to 1997, she was elected chairwoman of the Michigan Republican Party in 1996. She held that post until 2000, becoming one of the most powerful party figures in the state. Her tenure was marked by sharp opposition to Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm, whom a 2004 Lansing State Journal profile described as facing DeVos as her most persistent critic.
DeVos also expanded her education advocacy during this period. She chaired the boards of groups including the Alliance for School Choice and the Acton Institute, and she headed the All Children Matter PAC, which she and her husband founded in 2003 to promote school vouchers and scholarship tax credits. These roles allowed her to channel substantial personal and family resources into campaigns and policy debates that shaped the national school-choice movement.
Breakthrough (2003–2016)
DeVos returned to the chairmanship of the Michigan Republican Party from 2003 to 2005, resuming her role as a leading party organizer and donor. During this era, she also expanded her national profile in education philanthropy and advocacy. In 2004, President George W. Bush appointed her to the board of directors of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where she served until 2010 and helped fund arts management training.
She chaired the American Federation for Children, an advocacy organization promoting school vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs, and she also chaired the Great Lakes Education Project, a political action committee supporting charter schools in Michigan. Her sustained advocacy and family donations earned her a national reputation as a driving force behind the school-choice movement. In 2016, Forbes listed the DeVos family as the 88th-richest in America, with an estimated net worth of 5.4 billion dollars.
Republican Era (2017–2021)
On November 23, 2016, then-President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Betsy DeVos as the next Secretary of Education. Her nomination was confirmed by the United States Senate on February 7, 2017, by a 51–50 margin, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking the tie. This was the first time in U.S. history that a cabinet nominee’s confirmation was decided by the vice president’s tiebreaking vote.
As Secretary of Education, DeVos focused on expanding school choice, charter schools, and voucher programs nationwide. She delivered her first major policy address at the Brookings Institution on March 29, 2017, advocating for choice-oriented reforms and criticizing previous federal funding strategies. Her tenure was marked by legal disputes, including a 2018 loss in a lawsuit brought by 19 states and the District of Columbia over delayed implementation of student-loan borrower protections. DeVos resigned on January 7, 2021, citing the impact of the January 6 U.S. Capitol attack, and her resignation took effect on January 8, 2021.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of the most defining moments of DeVos’s career came on February 7, 2017, when Vice President Mike Pence cast the tiebreaking Senate vote to confirm her as Secretary of Education, the first time such a vote had ever decided a cabinet nomination. Her confirmation hearings drew widespread attention, including viral commentary over remarks about school safety. Her resignation on January 7, 2021, in direct response to the January 6 Capitol attack, made her the second cabinet member to step down following the event.
Betsy DeVos Career Wins
Betsy DeVos’s career is defined by sustained victories in Republican Party leadership and education advocacy rather than electoral office. She served as Republican National committeewoman for Michigan from 1992 to 1997, chaired the Michigan Republican Party from 1996 to 2000 and again from 2003 to 2005, and was confirmed as the 11th U.S. Secretary of Education in 2017. She also chaired or led several major education organizations, including the Alliance for School Choice, the American Federation for Children, and the Great Lakes Education Project.
Education Advocacy Highlights
DeVos’s most prominent achievement was her confirmation as U.S. Secretary of Education on February 7, 2017, secured by a historic vice-presidential tiebreaking vote. Her broader advocacy victories include helping to pass Michigan’s first charter-school bill in 1993 and founding or chairing influential national groups that advanced voucher and scholarship tax credit programs across multiple states.
Other Achievements
In 2004, DeVos was appointed to the board of directors of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, serving until 2010, and she received an honorary doctorate from Bethune-Cookman University in 2017. She was also recognized by Forbes in 2016 as part of the 88th-richest family in America, reflecting the financial scale of her philanthropic and political work.
Betsy DeVos Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Betsy DeVos comes from one of Michigan’s wealthiest families. Her father, Edgar Prince, was a billionaire industrialist who founded the Prince Corporation, an automobile parts supplier based in Holland, Michigan. Her brother, Erik Prince, is a former U.S. Navy SEAL officer and the founder of Blackwater USA, a private military services contractor. The Prince family’s Dutch heritage and Christian Reformed background have shaped both her personal faith and her political philosophy.
Personal Life
Betsy DeVos married Richard Marvin DeVos Jr., known as Dick DeVos, in 1979. Dick DeVos is the multi-billionaire heir to the Amway fortune and ran the company’s parent firm, Alticor, from 1993 to 2002. He was also the 2006 Republican nominee for Governor of Michigan. The couple has four grown children: Rick, Elissa, Andrea, and Ryan. Their son Rick DeVos founded ArtPrize, an international art competition held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The DeVos family has long supported conservative political campaigns and philanthropic causes through the Windquest Group and various foundations.