In this candid autobiography, Amway cofounder Rich DeVos reflects on work, faith, family, and the core values he’s held on to, from his humble Christian upbringing through his enormous success running one of the world’s largest businesses. Few people embody the American entrepreneurial spirit as plainly as Rich DeVos. A prominent businessman, self-made billionaire, philanthropist, worldwide speaker, bestselling author, family man, and devout Christian, DeVos not only helped create Amway, one of the world’s biggest companies, but he did it from the ground up with his deep faith in God guiding the way and keeping his hopes alive. Now after the success of his bestselling books in business, DeVos reveals his personal story. Born to poor Dutch immigrants in rural Michigan during the Depression, DeVos learned about the importance of leadership and partnership. His grandfather, father, and teachers taught him valuable lessons and key principles about faith, optimism, and perseverance that would guide his entire life. In high school, he befriended Jay Van Andel, who later became his business partner. Together, they created a whole new way to sell products and established one of the largest, most successful companies in the world. DeVos also talks about his marriage and family, his experiences as a motivational speaker, his ownership of the NBA basketball team Orlando Magic, and his philanthropic, religious, and political endeavors. Inspiring, fascinating, and full of heart, Simply Rich: Life and Lessons from the Cofounder of Amway is the astonishing rags-to-riches story that few can tell. Through his amazing accomplishments as both a businessman and generous soul, DeVos reveals the true meaning of success and how his deep faith helped him become a true American icon.

In this candid autobiography, Amway cofounder Rich DeVos reflects on work, faith, family, and the core values he’s held on to, from his humble Christian upbringing through his enormous success running one of the world’s largest businesses. Few people embody the American entrepreneurial spirit as plainly as Rich DeVos. A prominent businessman, self-made billionaire, philanthropist, worldwide speaker, bestselling author, family man, and devout Christian, DeVos not only helped create Amway, one of the world’s biggest companies, but he did it from the ground up with his deep faith in God guiding the way and keeping his hopes alive. Now after the success of his bestselling books in business, DeVos reveals his personal story. Born to poor Dutch immigrants in rural Michigan during the Depression, DeVos learned about the importance of leadership and partnership. His grandfather, father, and teachers taught him valuable lessons and key principles about faith, optimism, and perseverance that would guide his entire life. In high school, he befriended Jay Van Andel, who later became his business partner. Together, they created a whole new way to sell products and established one of the largest, most successful companies in the world. DeVos also talks about his marriage and family, his experiences as a motivational speaker, his ownership of the NBA basketball team Orlando Magic, and his philanthropic, religious, and political endeavors. Inspiring, fascinating, and full of heart, Simply Rich: Life and Lessons from the Cofounder of Amway is the astonishing rags-to-riches story that few can tell. Through his amazing accomplishments as both a businessman and generous soul, DeVos reveals the true meaning of success and how his deep faith helped him become a true American icon.

In this national bestseller, the co-founder of Amway blends his own amazing story with an inspiring, proven plan for establishing businesses that are both highly profitable and compassionate. "A terrific book".--Larry King.

Successful businessman, philanthropist, and motivational speaker Rich DeVos has learned the value of maintaining a positive attitude and offering encouragement to others. Now, with the knowledge and wisdom he has gained from his experiences and the influential people he has met DeVos offers you the key he has discovered in unlocking the powerful potential of ten ordinary yet life-changing phrases. Simply by adding these phrases into your daily conversations you can help motivate achievement, instill confidence, and change attitudes in your work and family life. Beyond these practical but profound phrases, DeVos delivers an inspiring message of building hope that resonates in the heart of every human being. Your decision to live with a positive attitude can change your life, your community, even the world. Start today with one small phrase: You can do it.

On a warm September night in 2002, former acquaintances Alexis Maybank and Alexandra Wilkis reconnected at a mixer for new students at Harvard Business School. Alexis had just ended a four-year run at eBay during the dotcom boom and bust. Alexandra had just spent three years as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Now they were entering the country’s top training ground for future titans of Wall Street and the Fortune 500. Little did either suspect that five years later, they’d become famous not in finance or consulting or corporate management, but at the bleeding-edge intersection of fashion and technology. Gilt Groupe – launched by Alexis, Alexandra, and three colleagues in 2007 – is one of the most fascinating startups of recent years, with a valuation of more than $1 billion. And it all began with one bold idea: to bring sample sales online and change the way millions shop. As Alexis and Alexandra write about the day Gilt.com went live: “We had created a website that could potentially change the rules of retail, for both shoppers and brands. If shopping was traditionally a slow, leisurely activity that might consume an entire day, it would now be competitive, addictive, urgent, thrilling—a rush delivered at the same time each day. Shopping would become not just easier, but so much fun.” But turning that vision into reality wasn’t easy. Designers had long controlled their own sample sales by staging them in anonymous, makeshift locations and strictly limiting invitations. Those lucky enough to hear about a Marc Jacobs or Hermès sample sale would drop everything and run for dramatic, fleeting bargains. Why should elite brands support a new startup trying to replicate the experience online? And even if brands like Valentino, Christian Louboutin, and Zac Posen got on board, would shoppers embrace such a website? Would the kind of people who love high-end fashion really visit a new online sale each day? Was “accessible luxury” a breakthrough idea or an absurd oxymoron? Alexis and Alexandra share their perspective in this dramatic story of Gilt’s birth, rise, and evolution. They show how they juggled the conflicting needs of their suppliers, engineers, marketers, and potential investors. They explain how they blended their individual strengths and weaknesses and managed their rapidly growing team. They cover the growing pains of expanding into new categories like housewares, travel, and menswear. And they take us through the darkest moments of the recession when Gilt might easily have died. As you’ll learn from the true story of Gilt, anything is possible for those with the creativity to recognize a new opportunity and the perseverance to make it real.

The first glimpse into the life of a quiet giant, An Enterprising Life chronicles the life and times of billionaire entrepreneur Jay Van Andel, a founder of the wildly successful Amway Corporation.-- Together with partner Rich DeVos, Jay Van Andel -- ranked #6 on Forbes magazine's wealthiest persons list -- created Amway, one of the world's largest direct-sales operations.-- With an army of 3 million distributors in 80 countries worldwide, Amway earned $7 billion in annual sales in 1997, based on the 450 nutrition and wellness, personal care, home care, and commercial products available through Amway catalogs.-- Amway co-founder Rich DeVos's own book, Compassionate Capitalism (Dutton, 1994), was a New York Times bestseller.Jay Van Andel has led an extraordinary life, filled with adventure, hardship, faith, and, of course, great success. This autobiography now sheds new light on his life, providing Amway employees and distributors (over 400,000 in North America alone), as well asbusinesspeople and entrepreneurs, with the story of a great leader whose vision has created a company that goes beyond commercial -- a company that has for decades helped people help themselves.