We live in a time of fading belief. Belief in God. Belief in human potential. Belief in the power of economic freedom. Yet these beliefs are essential to a future of wealth, health, and happiness for all—in America and across the world. In this plenary address, Doug DeVos offers a roadmap for restoring these beliefs in modern society. It comes down to what his Dad, Amway co-founder Rich DeVos, called the “3 A’s”—creating an atmosphere that shape’s people attitude and ultimately spurs them to action.
Acton University is not your typical conference. It’s a four-day exploration of theology, phil...
What Doug DeVos said
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Doug DeVos, co-chairman of Amway, addressed the Acton University plenary on the intersection of faith, free enterprise, and American founding principles. He opened by tying the Declaration's self-evident truths to biblical ideas, highlighting the change from 'subjects' to 'citizens' and quoting Frederick Douglass's challenge to stand by those principles at any cost. DeVos recounted Amway's founding by his father Rich and Jay Van Andel, the name's global resonance, and a 1979 meeting in Malaysia where his father told the prime minister that Amway invests in people, not just natural resources. He credited these principles for the 'hockey stick' of human history and cited the Ten Pillars of Economic Wisdom from the 1964 World's Fair. DeVos warned of threats from secularism, socialism, and communism, and stressed that rights are not self-perpetuating, urging the audience to live out their beliefs daily, as his father's book 'Believe' exemplified.
Key takeaways
DeVos argued the Declaration's shift from 'subjects' to 'citizens' shows rights come from God, not kings, a change he called powerful.
He said Amway's success in Malaysia proved that people, not natural resources, are the greatest asset, quoting his father's 1979 meeting.
DeVos warned that secularism, socialism, and communism are returning threats that need active resistance through belief-driven action.
He cited the Ten Pillars of Economic Wisdom, arguing that millions of individuals making decisions beats a state-planned society.
So now it's my really my great honor and pleasure as a Grand Rapidian, as an American, to introduce you to a fine individual who will be our plenary speaker. Doug Devos is a man of deep belief in God, in America, and in everybody's potential for entrepreneurship. Doug's father, Rich, who I had the pleasure to meet on a few occasions, co-founded the direct selling business, Amway, in 1959. In the early 2000s, Doug became Amway's co-president, and since 2018, he's been the co-chairman. Today, the company operates in six continents in over a hundred different countries, empowering more than one million small business owners through Amway's model. If you ask Doug what defines him, he'd say it's his faith and family that matters most. He has four children, six grandchildren at the moment. We're thinking well of your progeny. He helped found Keystone Community Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and is active in national and local philanthropy, serving on the board of the National Constitution Center and as chair of Stand Together's Frederick Douglass Society. He's also the co-founder of American Magic, a global high-performance sailing organization that is helping position the United States at the forefront of elite sailing in competition, innovation, and engineering. It doesn't say on here, but I know Doug also played college football, which is pretty cool. His family also owns the Orlando Magic NBA franchise and other sports franchises around the country. Most recently, Doug re-released his father's best-selling book, Believe, in a special 50th anniversary edition as America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday. Today he'll share why belief remains one of the most powerful forces in business leadership and life. Please join me in welcoming Doug Devos.
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DeVos, D. (2026, June 26). Believe! | Acton University 2026 Plenary with Doug DeVos [Interview transcript]. Acton Institute. CEOInterviews.AI. https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1046047/
MLA
Doug DeVos. "Believe! | Acton University 2026 Plenary with Doug DeVos." Acton Institute, 26 Jun. 2026. Transcript, CEOInterviews.AI, https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1046047/.
BibTeX
@misc{devos2026_1046047,
author = {Doug DeVos},
title = {Believe! | Acton University 2026 Plenary with Doug DeVos},
howpublished = {Interview transcript, Acton Institute. CEOInterviews.AI},
year = {2026},
month = {jun},
url = {https://ceointerviews.ai/interview/1046047/},
note = {Speaker-attributed transcript with timestamps}
}
