Who is Betsy DeVos and what’s her net worth? Donald Trump’s Education Secretary and billionaire philanthropist
Former critic of 'interloper' Trump is a fervent education campaigner and heir to a huge fortune
DONALD Trump named businesswoman and billionaire philanthropist Betsy DeVos as Secretary of State for Education.
A prominent activist and campaigner on education issues, she is one of several Republican figures who criticised Trump during his Presidential campaign, calling him an "interloper".
DeVos was confirmed as Education Secretary after Mike Pence cast deciding vote.
It's after two Republicans defected and Democrats pushed back hard on her nomination because of her support for school vouchers in the past.
But who is the philanthropist who has just joined Trump's administration?
Who is Betsy Devos?
Elisabeth "Betsy" DeVos, 58, was born Elisabeth Prince on January 8, 1958 in Holland, Michigan.
She is a businesswoman, philanthropist, and education activist and is married to Amway heir Dick DeVos.
They have two daughters and a son.
She has taken a leading role in a several of social, cultural, and political campaigns and organisations.
She has sat on the boards of several companies and served in the 1990s and early 2000's as chairman of the Michigan Republican Party.
She is chairman of tech investment firm the Windquest Group, Christian issues campaign the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation, and the American Federation for Children, which promotes scholarships.
She is a member of the board of the DeVos Institute for Arts Management at the Kennedy Center.
Betsy DeVos called Trump an 'interloper' during the campaign
What is Betsy DeVos's net worth?
Betsy's marriage to husband Dick puts her in line to receive an estimated $5.1 billion (£4.1 billion) fortune from sales giant Amway.
Amway — which manufactures and sells a range of health and home care products — was set up by her father-in-law in 1959 and it has grown into a company with $9.5 billion (£7.6 billion) revenues in 2015.
Last year Dick was the 88th wealthiest person in the United States.
Her family has always donated significant money to the Republicans since being active in politics since college.
said in 2016 that the family gave $2.7 million (£2million) to the Republican Party, its candidates and PACS.
What does Betsy DeVos stand for?
A self-dubbed national leader, Betsy said she fought to boldly reform “America’s broken education system by giving parents more options for their children’s education.”
She advocates for school choice, and backs charter schools.
The 59-year-old believes in using school vouchers to allow students to attend private schools with public funding.
This has been described as "a government-run monopoly" by Trump himself.
Traditional vouchers are basically state-funded scholarships that pay for students to go to private school instead of public school.
But in order to accept voucher recipients, private schools must meet minimum standards established by legislatures.
These rules set standards for student eligibility that typically target subgroups of students, including low-income students, students at critically low-performing schools, disabled pupils or students in foster care or military families.
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