Oh sure, little brothers can be a pain, but sometimes they're pretty helpful. Just ask Dick DeVos Jr., closet organizer entrepreneur, Amway scion, and candidate for governor. What he is not, any longer, is the owner of the racing sloop Windquest. Dick was the owner a year ago when he had his sailboat up for sale. But apparently there were no takers.
Now Dick Jr. is running for governor, and I suppose a man of the people just doesn't go sporting around in regatta-winning racing sloops. So, we learn in today's edition of the Detroit Free Press that his younger brother Doug is now not only the new owner of the Windquest but is also replacing Dick as the vessel's skipper in this year's big race from Port Huron to Mackinac Island.
Maybe Doug provided his brother this bit of P.R. cover, because Dick figured that Michiganders are a small-minded race who would begrudge him a token of his success as the proprietor of a capital-venture-firm-now-shelving-concern, husband of an heiress, and son of the biggest multi-level marketing huckster in the world. But then, with Dick now trimming his sails on all manner of political positions he once held, maybe he's just tired of literally trimming them.
DeVos has had a number of boats called Windquest. There was a 74' IMS boat designed by Reichel/Pugh, now owned by a South American and called Alexia B. He has also had a 1D35 and 1D48 called Windquest, in addition to the MaxZ86 that you mentioned. See
http://www.yachtracing.com/richroberts/073103.htm for a bit more on the MaxZ86.
I think it is a bit presumptuous to assume that the boat was for sale due to lack of funds rather than to desire for a faster boat.
On the other hand, it is pretty clear that Dick Jr. has shown a lot more enthusiasm in his life for sailing than for running a business or for 'public service'.
Posted by: Pete Promer | July 10, 2006 at 06:08 PM
... or maybe it's because Dick now spends his leisure time on his motorcycle!
Posted by: Steve Smith | July 11, 2006 at 07:47 AM
Hi, Pete.
Thanks for the additional info. There are two reasons why I suggested that the Windquest (the MaxZ86) was for sail because the coffers are empty. First, DeVos wasn't interested in buying a faster boat. In fact, he canceled the construction of a bigger and faster sailboat in Italy.
Second, all the evidence points to Amway going through a financial workout with its lenders after the implosion of Amway-Asia and Amway-Pacific. We have covered this issue in some detail with a number of articles in the "Pyramid Project" folder, if you are interested.
Because the DeVoses (and the Van Andels for that matter, too) aren't as well-heeled as they appear to be, they have been panhandling for tax credits, donations, and other favors that are a bit unusual for billionaires to be grubbing around for. Because these activities affect the public purse in significant way here in G.R., we have been covering the influence of the Amway clans here.
Regards, Bill
Posted by: The Executive Director | July 11, 2006 at 08:16 AM