Police say someone untied a $40 million yacht owned by the family of U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, causing it to drift into a dock where it got scratched to the tune of $5,000-to-$10,000 in damages before the crew could get it under control.
The 163-foot yacht was moored at the Huron Boat Basin in Huron, Ohio, the Toledo Blade reported. Betsy was in Ohio earlier in July to tour a career center and a correctional treatment program, according to Newschannel9.
The captain of the yacht told the police that he had discovered someone had purposely untied the Seaquest from the dock, People magazine reported.
The net worth of Betsy and her husband, Richard “Dick” DeVos, Jr., is unknown, according to Romper, “but it is fair to say that Betsy and Dick live a very comfortable life”.
Betsy was born into wealth, and then married into more wealth.
Forbes puts her net worth at $1.25 billion in a report entitled, “What Each Member Of Trump’s $4.5 Billion Cabinet Is Worth.”
Betsy’s husband, Dick, is the son of Amway co-founder Richard DeVos. Richard’s net worth is $5.3 billion, according to Forbes. Richard is also the owner of the NBA’s Orlando Magic and a minority owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team.
The Seaquest is just one of 10 boats owned by the DeVos family, according to ABC News. It can hold up to 12 guests and 12 crew members.
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Betsy is the daughter of Edgar Prince, who founded the successful Prince Corp. Her brother, Erik Prince, is the founder of Blackwater, a private military company notorious for its activities as a mercenary subcontractor for U.S. combat operations in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Cabinet secretaries are rarely household names unless they’re an attorney general or secretary of state.
“Under President Donald Trump, however, something different is happening: Everyone hates the education secretary, the person who is 16th in line to the presidency and controls only 3 percent of the federal budget,” Amanda Terkel wrote in Huffington Post.
Part of the reason for her unpopularity is that Betsy never went to a public school, her children never went to a public school, and she scorns public education, said Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.). “There is no one in America more unpopular than Betsy DeVos,” Merkley said. “…(For her)… to be in charge of public education is an outrage.”
A champion of school choice, Betsy alienated many African Americans in February 2017 when she described historically black colleges as “real pioneers when it comes to school choice.”
“After a storm of criticism, she acknowledged that these colleges were ‘born, not out of mere choice, but out of necessity, in the face of racism.'” Terrance Harris wrote for The Associated Press.
One of Betsy’s most recent unpopular moves as Education Secretary was a proposal on Wednesday to curtail Obama-administration loan forgiveness rules for students defrauded by for-profit colleges. Under Betsy’s proposal, student borrowers would have to show they have fallen into hopeless financial straits or prove that their colleges knowingly deceived them.
“The new rules would save the government about $700 million a year, compared with those proposed by the Obama administration, a senior administration official said. The department will take public comment on the proposals for 30 days, and the rules are set to go into effect in July 2019,” Huffington Post reported.
Betsy is unqualified for the job, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted in February. In June, Ocasio-Cortez defeated a political veteran in the Democratic Party’s congressional primary in New York City.
Betsy DeVos, the least qualified Education Secretary in history, has:
– Presided over 17 school shootings (& denied gun safety measures)
– Enriched herself off student loans
– Dropped protections for sexually assaulted studentsAnd HER feelings are hurt? How about our kids? https://t.co/4h9pEQeB2f
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) February 9, 2018
I don’t think @Ocasio2018 was joking about the yachts pic.twitter.com/0PAQJ9UxiM
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) July 26, 2018
Can I get DeVos address? I would like to mail her my receipt for the school supplies I purchased and classroom essentials the teachers needed like… books.
— TableFor7 (@inminivanhell) July 26, 2018
— jmw (@j_theargonaut) July 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/humanfriend_/status/1022560994483154944
People have a hard time wrapping their heads around what a billion dollars is. Betsy DeVos has 5 billion dollars. That $10k in yacht repairs for her is equivalent to a person with $10,000 incurring a two cent expense.
— AutomationBias (@AutomationBias) July 26, 2018
https://twitter.com/JoelBordeaux/status/1022566412353724418
https://twitter.com/JoelBordeaux/status/1022625947718180865
https://twitter.com/pixelsnbits/status/1022568585250525184
Where did she get all that money for those Yachts?
— David Weissman (@davidmweissman) July 26, 2018
She and her husband both inherited sh*t tons of money and have used it to turn the education system into a for-profit enterprise in Michigan. It's why their education system has gone to sh*t since she got her hands on it.
— oufenix (D) (@oufenix) July 26, 2018
How can somebody who owns a 40 million dollar yacht serve average citizens?
— Arthur Coffin (@org_theory) July 26, 2018
Imagine having only 1 yacht
— momcore (@wellimpregnant) July 26, 2018
Anybody else sick of tax cuts for American oligarchy?
— Susan W FL (@baalat1) July 27, 2018
Cruella DeVos Lost a yacht? pic.twitter.com/1k83ri3shi
— Sam Levine (@Sam_Levine) July 26, 2018
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the hero America needs!
— EPGFiles (@EpgFiles) July 27, 2018
Ocasio-Cortez: pic.twitter.com/i4OBgig5Ub
— Error 420 User Not Found (@milo2618) July 27, 2018
As a NYC school teacher, I have to listen to @BetsyDeVosED tell me I am not doing right by my students bc she has 10 yachts.
— Peter G (@PeterGianninoto) July 27, 2018
https://twitter.com/kelnicos/status/1022799536316661761
The yachts registered in the Cayman Islands to avoid US taxes? One of TEN the family owns?
THOSE yachts?
Funny how the gazillionaires duck taxes but then expect US Coast Guard to save their property, huh?#devos#yachtlife #YachtProblems
— KellyInMadison (@KellyInMadison1) July 27, 2018