On Tuesday, Axios reported that former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made hundreds of millions of dollars while in office — and that the full extent of her earnings during that period are impossible to assess fully.
"Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos reported earning at least $225 million in outside income during her tenure in the Trump administration, according to a report by the watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington," reported Rebecca Falconer. "CREW said the full amount in outside earnings from dividends, interest and rents during her time in the post could be 'potentially well over $414 million,' based on its analysis of three of DeVos' financial disclosures conducted by CREW."
"DeVos' family owns the marketing firm Amway and she was the richest member of former President Trump's Cabinet. She pledged to donate her salary to charity during her time in the administration," continued the report. "'She maintained a stake in Neurocore, a brain performance company targeting children, and failed to recuse from matters related to the company despite the potential for conflicts of interest,' CREW said."
DeVos' tenure in the Department of Education was also marked by a stubborn refusal to fully forgive the debts of college students defrauded by shuttered for-profit institutions. The Biden administration has reversed this policy, fully forgiving the loans of 72,000 people totaling $1 billion.
