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Showing posts from November, 2006
Amway/Quixtar: The Dirt Beneath the "Diamonds"--- The recent failed Michigan gubernatorial campaign of the politically ambitious Dick Devos brought to light a number of different things- for one, Devos is the heir to the multi-billion-dollar Alticor corporation. In TV commercials, Devos infers that he single-handedly led renovation efforts in Grand Rapids, MI—near the company’s home HQ in small-town Ada, Mich.—but even Devos’ father said he was exaggerating facts. The roots of Alticor are in the Amway corporation—Alticor being the chosen name of the company since the late 1990’s. Several scandals and lawsuits involving the organization and affiliated people date back to the early 1980’s, which—unofficially—led to the eventual change of the company name, as well as a well-funded public relations campaign. It should be pointed out that there is yet another subdivision of Amway called Quixtar (pronounced quick-star), that sells some different products from Amway proper, but is