Watchdog says DeVos made nine figures in outside income during Trump years

Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos earned an estimated nine figures in outside income while serving in the Trump administration, according to a Washington, D.C., watchdog. 

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) states in a report released Tuesday that DeVos made at least $225 million and possibly more than $414 million in outside income while she worked as Education secretary.

The figures were found through an analysis of three of DeVos’s financial disclosure forms conducted by CREW.

The organization notes that it is difficult to know DeVos’s exact income as her income is reported in broad ranges. Many assets are listed as being “over $5 million” or “over $1 million” instead of giving exact figures.

DeVos was the wealthiest member of former President Trump’s Cabinet thanks in part to her family’s ownership of Amway, a massive U.S. multi-level marketing company. At least $75 million of her income came from Alticor, the parent company of Amway.

CREW notes that DeVos and her husband did not avoid ethically questionable situations during her tenure, despite committing to do so.

These included her stake in Neurocore, a brain performance company aimed at children, as well as her husband’s political donations, which DeVos had pledged he would stop making.

DeVos did not recuse herself from matters involving Neurocore that brought up potential conflicts of interest and her husband continued to make political donations in the 2018 and 2020 election cycles.

DeVos was one of several Trump administration members who resigned shortly after the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot, along with Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and special envoy to Northern Ireland Mick Mulvaney.

In her resignation letter, DeVos directly cited Trump’s “rhetoric” and the impact it had on contributing to the riot.