Amway co-founder Jay Van Andel dies at 80

[UrbScotty]

Being a liberal, I'm not one who likes to dance on people's graves. I mean, hey, at least he gave a rat's Ashcroft about his community, unlike many Republicans.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - 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.

<snip>

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. Its parent company, the privately held Alticor Inc., had worldwide sales of $6.2 billion for the year ending Aug. 31, 2004, with Asia now its primary market.

[rooboy]

1. Watch for an increase in volcanic activity around Ada, Michigan today. n/t

[IHeart1993]

2. New 8 is doing a piece on him right now.

No surprise there.

[UrbScotty]

4. Yep. Our liberal media hard at work.

Of course, Rick Albin used to work for Pete Hoekstra.

[goclark]

3. Wasn't Amway involved in some way with the BBV's?

[rooboy]

6. No... n/t

[Liberty Belle]

7. Amway is a huge GOP campaign contributor

that has been involved in various shady deals.

[LTR]

30. Rich DeVos is a big GOP supporter

Another guy at the top of the Amway pyramid. I think he was also one of the originals.

[mitchum]

11. No, but they have provided cover for CIA activities for a LONG time

[rooboy]

15. CIA Activities? Got any details? n/t

[dqueue]

5. earlier thread today...

Interesting. I just read a Wayne Madsen piece (sorry, no link) earlier today regarding Amway, Tom Delay and potential vote-rigging...

Did he die of natural causes, or "natural causes"?

[UrbScotty]

18. He had been 'ill' for a few years

I think he had Parkinson's.

[gmoney]

8. Suppose he'll be buried in a pyramid?

"It's not a pyramid scheme... it's a multi-level marketing paradigm!"

[mitchum]

12. LOL!!!

nicely done:)

[bleedingheart]

9. I hope he likes it hot

cuz he is probably roasting after having bilked people out of their money on that pyramid scam...

[maddogesq]

10. Yep, another resident added to the Devil's den.

Those fokkers created SCAMWAY, and created a Michigan Republican Party that does not resemble the same Republican Party that was founded here so many years ago.

I hope he burns in hell with the point of the pyramid up his arse.

[tonekat]

13. one of the biggest drug dealers I ever knew...

...in another life, was an Amway dealer too! Of course, he got into all those pyramid schemes, Herbadeath, freezer plans, "nutricuticals", you name it.

[DBoon]

14. nutricuticals?

Aren't those fake dog testicles?

http://www.gemgreyhounds.org/guide/gde_greyspeak.htm

[Stinky The Clown]

16. I wonder if he's hooked up with Ponzi yet.

[complain jane]

17. well whaddya know

Most Amway folks I've ever run across were wide-eyed zealots, I should have known it was run by a bunch of righties.

[rooboy]

19. You don't know the HALF of it...

check out this website...

www.merchantsofdeception.com

[Vidar]

20. Good riddance to pure scum.

[noshenanigans]

21. He didn't die..

He merely formed a team of people directly under him who then in turn formed teams that did the actual dying.

[flygal]

22. lol - but it's not a pyramid!!!! *rolleyes*

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

23. He scammed a hell of a lot of people to create his dynasty

[noonwitch]

24. Will he be in the circle of hell with the thieves or the blasphemers?

The pyramid scheme is thievery, in nature. However, the recruiting conferences, in which prospective distributors were told "God wants you to be rich, God wants you to sell Amway" pushes it all into blasphemy. The God of the Dutch Reformed is the Old Testament God of wrath, so he's in for it now.

Yes, he has been generous with his money as far as the art museum bearing his name goes. The arena and the children's hopsital are money-making venues for him. Spectrum Health Corporation is owned by the Van Andels and DeVoss' and now owns two of four hospitals in Grand Rapids (one of the other two is catholic and one is osteopathic), thus ensuring that no woman in that area will be able to get an abortion at a local hospital or affiliated clinic.

I grew up in GR and have far more respect for the conservative republicans who run Meijer (they pay their employees union wages) and who used to run Steelecase (they treated their employees well when they ran the company). They never tried to make the taxpayers pay for parochial schools, they never took leadership positions in the state GOP to push for a narrow-minded religious agenda, and have also contributed to many good local causes. The Meijer family built that totally cool sculpture garden, too.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

25. If I had a dime for every person that tried to get me into that scam.

I'd be richer than him by now.

[KansDem]

26. I made the mistake of actually attending a presentation...

Back in college in the 1970s. I was living in a dorm and one of the other residents ask me to go to this meeting about "fantastic products." I was curious and didn't know anything about Amway. In fact, I don't think he even mentioned the company's name! Anyway, he offered me a ride and I accepted. It was one of the loooongest evenings I ever spent.

And I never again accepted a ride somewhere if I wasn't absolutely certain about what I was getting myself into...

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

28. We all have, my friend.

Their technique is to not name Amway because they know most people will run the other way when they hear that name. This guy got pissed once because he was talking to me about a "business oportunity". When I said "This isn't Amway is it?". He was like "Yeah so?". But the look in his face was priceless. I guess I hurt his feelings.

[LTR]

33. Anyone remember Equinox?

This was another MLM scam back in the 90's. Lots of people were telling me about this group, and how great an opportunity it was. Curious, I asked what the hell they sold. And they all got quiet. Must have been an unwritten rule not to talk about what the product was, but talk away about the great opportunity Equinox supposedly was.

Well, Equinox got busted by the government and was shut down, and I still don't know what the hell they sold. I think it was water purification products or something.

[pinerow]

34. Love your flag...where can I get one...???

[Doohickie]

27. I'll dance on his grave

One less AmWay salesman! YAY!

[Hand]

29. I won't dance on his grave...

...piss on it, maybe... Cover it with fresh stinking manure... uh... put up a big sign, "GOODBYE, YOU OLD BASTARD. I'M GLAD YOU'RE DEAD"... etc., etc.

Piling up the bad karma today and enjoying it.

:evilgrin:

[genieroze]

31. At least he died at the top of the pyramid. eom

[LibertyLover]

32. Amway

About 10 or 11 years ago a friend of mine moved from New York state to Florida. Her husband had put in his 20 years on a police force there and wanted to move to a warm climate so he could boat and fish and she wanted to be close to her aging parents. When they lived in New York she got involved in local politics as a Republican and was elected to several terms as a tax accessors. But she was a paleo-Republican (an almost extinct breed now)and definitely not a religious fundy.

Then Florida happened. The next thing I knew she had gotten way deeply involved in Amway and wanted me to be also. As a Christmas gift they bought me the basic level distributorship. A couple of times when I visited her, we went to marketing seminars that were a mixture of religious revival and snake oil ("I was living in deep poverty and then I accepted Jesus and started to sell Amway and now I live in , vote Republican and don't have to work."). Since I was, and am, a happy pagan, I always felt, shall we say, uncomfortable at those meetings. I dislike being questioned about my relationship with Deity and a couple of times had people get in my face about "accepting Jesus". I really upset one guy who was in my "up line" with my response of "I didn't even know he was lost and that I was supposed to look for him." to his "Have you found Jesus yet?".

To make a long story only moderately lengthy, my friend never made any money selling Amway, and eventually gave it up for personal reasons, long after I told Amway to kiss off because of their political affiliations. But the damage was done - my friend was, and is, a rabid Neo-con republican and moderately fundy. We are still close, so long as we don't discuss politics or religion, two subjects we used to enjoy talking about and mulling over. Granted she might have turned anyway given that she was living in Jeb-land, but Amway made the turning quicker and deeper. There is a special place in the afterlife for the De Vos and the Van Andels.