Betsy DeVos
A billionaire activist who spent decades pushing for school vouchers and charter schools, reshaping the debate over public education in America.
Born 1958 (age 68)·American politician and philanthropist·Birthday: January 8·Baby Boomers
Biography
Betsy DeVos emerged from Michigan's wealthy political circles not as a politician first, but as a formidable advocate. Her crusade for school choice began long before her controversial tenure as U.S. Secretary of Education, rooted in a deep-seated belief that parents, not zip codes, should decide their children's schooling. She and her husband, Dick DeVos, heir to the Amway fortune, poured millions into supporting charter school expansion and voucher programs, particularly in their home city of Detroit. Her time in Washington was marked by fierce opposition from teachers' unions and a relentless focus on rolling back federal regulations, arguing they stifled innovation. Whether viewed as a champion of educational freedom or a threat to public school systems, DeVos's influence ensured that the conversation about American education would never be the same.
Baby Boomers
1946–1964
The largest generation in history at the time. Shaped by postwar prosperity, the Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and Watergate. They questioned every institution their parents built — then ran them.
Betsy was born in 1958, placing them squarely in the Baby Boomers. The events that shaped this generation — postwar prosperity, civil rights, Vietnam, and the counterculture — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Betsy Was Born
The biggest hits of 1958
#1 Movie
South Pacific
Best Picture
Gigi
#1 TV Show
Gunsmoke
Betsy's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1958Born
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1963Started school
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1971Became a teenager
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1974Could drive
Nixon resigns the presidency
Gas: $0.53/galHome: $22,600Min wage: $2.00/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"The Way We Were" — Barbra StreisandBest Picture: The Godfather Part II
1976Could vote
Apple Computer founded; US bicentennial
Gas: $0.59/galHome: $29,300Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Silly Love Songs" — WingsBest Picture: Rocky
1979Turned 21
Iran hostage crisis begins; Three Mile Island accident
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $37,900Min wage: $2.90/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"My Sharona" — The KnackBest Picture: Kramer vs. Kramer
1988Turned 30
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 40
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 50
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2018Turned 60
Royal wedding of Harry and Meghan; Parkland shooting
Gas: $2.72/galHome: $211,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"God's Plan" — DrakeBest Picture: Green Book
2026Age 68 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Served as the 11th U.S. Secretary of Education from 2017 to 2021.
- Chaired the Michigan Republican Party during two separate periods in the 1990s and 2000s.
- Used her family's philanthropic foundation to become a leading national funder of school choice initiatives.
- Successfully advocated for the expansion of charter schools in Detroit, making it a key battleground for her ideas.
Did You Know?
She is married to Dick DeVos, former CEO of Amway and son of its co-founder.
Her brother, Erik Prince, is the founder of the private military company Blackwater.
She was an alternate delegate for Gerald Ford at the 1976 Republican National Convention.
During her confirmation hearings, she stated that guns might be needed in schools to protect from 'potential grizzlies'.
“I think we have made way too much of a federal matter out of something that is inherently a state and local matter.”
