Amway chief gave state GOP $1-million

In the months before he died, Jay Van Andel may have set a record with his generosity to the Florida Republican Party.

Just before he died, the co-founder of Amway pumped $1-million into the Florida Republican Party in the final months of the campaign season.

Veteran Florida fundraisers think Jay Van Andel's donations amount to the largest contribution any individual has ever given to a state party in Florida.

The donations were revealed in state records obtained by the St. Petersburg Times , but were unknown even to some state party leaders because the Secretary of State's Office has yet to post detailed information about campaign finance activity leading up to Election Day.

Van Andel, a resident of Grand Rapids, Mich., was one of the richest men in the world, an entrepreneur and philanthropist worth an estimated $2.3-billion.

Records show that starting July 27, he made 10 $100,000 donations to the Florida Republican Party. The money began flowing in at a time when many observers saw Florida as a tossup state that could decide whether President Bush or John Kerry won the election.

The money helped pay for a massive get-out-the-vote effort in a state Bush needed to win.

Van Andel had Parkinson's disease and nearly missed seeing his generosity to the Florida GOP pay off. He died just over a month after President Bush won Florida and re-election - and a week after the Florida GOP deposited his 10th $100,000 check. He was 80.

Van Andel, who gave $475,000 to the Michigan Republican Party, was a longtime benefactor of conservative and Christian causes. Among his many philanthropic endeavors was a creationism scientific center in Arizona where one scientist is working to prove that God created the world in six days.

Van Andel and his longtime business partner, Richard DeVos, started selling soap in 1959. Their venture ultimately became Amway Corp., the multilevel marketing giant with millions of independent distributors worldwide. Amway reportedly paid former presidents Reagan and Bush seven-figure speaking fees to address employees.

Members of the DeVos family, which owns the Orlando Magic basketball team, contributed $515,000 to the state Republican Party this cycle, making the Amway leaders by far the biggest individual donors to the Florida GOP in the last election cycle.

Van Andel and DeVos also each gave $2-million to Progress for America, an independent group that paid for TV ads aimed at re-electing Bush.

Officials with foundations connected to Van Andel and to Alticor, Amway's privately held parent company, could not be reached or declined to comment on the political contributions. A spokesman for the Florida Republican Party said state chairwoman Carole Jean Jordan knew little about Van Andel or the extent of his donations.

"You have more information about this gentleman than the chairman or I do," said spokesman Joseph Agostini. "We value all our supporters."

Campaign finance laws forbid unlimited "soft money" contributions to federal candidates or federal party organizations, but not to state parties. Soft money donations helped the Florida GOP raise more than $30-million during the last election cycle and helped the state Democratic Party raise more than $20-million, according to state and federal records.

Along with Van Andel and DeVos, other top Republican donors included the Realtors PAC (nearly $330,000); the Florida Medical Association ($283,000); AT&T ($274,000); and WellCare Health Systems of Tampa ($252,000).

Top soft money donors to the Florida Democratic Party included the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers ($332,000); Jacksonville trial lawyer Wayne Hogan ($253,000); Florida Great Lakes Radio Consortium ($240,000); Service Employees International Union ($214,000); Texas trial lawyer Frederick M. Baron ($200,000); and Communications Workers of America ($200,000).

--Researcher Caryn Baird and computer-assisted reporting specialist Constance Humburg contributed to this report. Adam C. Smith can be reached at 727893-8241 or adam@sptimes.com

Tampa Bay headlines

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright