David Marcus’s Fox News opinion column argues that wealthy families’ charitable giving has helped build institutions and support development in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He uses the city as a counterpoint to Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed’s stated opposition to billionaires.
Marcus names the DeVos, Van Andel and Meijer families as prominent local philanthropists. He reports that their names appear on institutions around the city, reflecting donations they have made. The column does not quantify those contributions or compare their effects with other influences on the city’s economy.
At the Grand Rapids Public Museum, a docent identified as Joan told Fox News Digital that a small number of families help address community needs and make projects possible. Marcus describes the museum’s exhibits, including a recreation of 1880s Grand Rapids, and construction activity visible along the waterfront. He presents these scenes as evidence of the city’s continuity and growth.
A construction worker whom Marcus questioned said he frequently works on buildings associated with the wealthy families, estimating that their names are attached to about half of the major projects he encounters. The worker also said that some projects involve several of the families. The article offers this as an individual’s observation, rather than a comprehensive count of local development projects.
Marcus acknowledges that Grand Rapids’ success has multiple causes, but contends that philanthropy is an important part of the story. He compares the city’s wealthy donors with earlier American industrial families whose giving supported civic institutions in other cities. He contrasts their philanthropy with what he characterizes as the political left’s approach to wealth and social change.
The column also includes comments from Maggie, a retired resident near Grand Rapids, who described a sharp contrast between less expensive homes and lakefront properties in the Holland area. She said the difference between people with greater and lesser means is pronounced. Marcus writes that Maggie and her husband support El-Sayed, but says they did not express the same level of condemnation of billionaires that he attributes to El-Sayed and other prominent progressives.
El-Sayed has said he wants a society without billionaires, according to the column. Marcus argues that if funds now directed to civic projects were instead routed through government, public programs would not necessarily replicate the benefits he attributes to private philanthropy. The article does not include a response from El-Sayed or detailed information about his policy proposals for charitable giving, taxation or public spending.
Marcus concludes that Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers should make the case that El-Sayed’s position could harm Michigan. He favors cooperation between government and wealthy donors to address community needs, rather than treating private wealth itself as a problem. Those conclusions are the columnist’s political argument; the reported comments and examples provide local context but do not establish the broader economic effects of either candidate’s policies.
