David Marcus: Why Abd al-Sayed's Anti-Billionaire Movies May Not Play in Grand Rapids

Abd al-Sayed says billionaires shouldn't exist, but Grand Rapids locals credit wealthy philanthropic families for the city's thriving success.

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I'm happy to say that Grand Rapids, Michigan is a thoroughly thriving middle American city that almost feels like walking back in time. It has sidewalks full of people, streets full of cars and beautiful big buildings full of businesses.

When I asked locals what the secret of this success was, a surprising number of people pointed to a handful of billionaire philanthropic families: the same billionaires that Democratic Senate candidate Abdul-Sayad says shouldn't be in the Wolverine state or anywhere else in America.

Among these wealthy families with deep roots in Grand Rapids and West Michigan are the Davos, Van Andel, and Meijer families, whose names can be seen in institutions across the city—because of the billions of dollars they've given away.

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Inside the massive museum, which looks like it should be in a town with an NFL team, is a mini 1880s Grand Rapids with shops to browse. It was at the Chemist that I met Jon and to be honest, I added some glass and steel and the city looks just as busy today.

At one point, I found myself in a museum looking at the bones of a prehistoric mastodon. Through the window behind it, bright yellow construction machines worked along the waterfront, while beyond them stood the short, proud buildings on the other side of the Grand River, from which the city takes its name.

In this disparity, one can see a kind of continuity that most American cities lack: past, present, and future in one positive step.

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Later that day, I asked a construction worker how often he worked on buildings belonging to these wealthy families. "Always half the big projects we work on have one of the names," he said in that distinctive Western Michigan accent, adding with a laugh, "Sometimes all the names."

There are countless reasons why Grand Rapids is doing so well, but to diminish the philanthropic impact of these wealthy local families is to miss a key point in the economic success story.

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This is not a new feature of American civic growth. From the Astors in New York City to the Carnegies in Pittsburgh, our cities have always benefited from the noble commitment of what Alcide, himself a foreign investment property owner, called the "1%."

Today's left has a very different view of Noble's commitment, which was on display this summer when several high-ranking members of the Democratic Socialists of America were exposed in New York City as rich kids living off mom and dad.

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For today's left, noblesse oblige means marching in the streets and electing communists before retiring to your million dollar apartment. In Michigan, it still means building museums, libraries and medical centers.

Some Michigan residents, like Magee, who is retired and lives near Grand Rapids, expressed concern about income inequality.

"Where we live in Holland, there are houses that are maybe $60,000. You go two blocks over and there are $6 million houses on the lake," he said. "The haves and have-nots are very clear."

Supporters of Michigan Republican Senate candidate former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers gather outside WOOD TV studios where the two candidates debated on October 8, 2026 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Abd al-Said, a former public health director and progressive Michigan Democratic Senate candidate, has been ahead of Rogers in the polls, but the lead remains within the margin of error.

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But even Democrat Maggie and her husband, Doug, who are Alcide's sure votes, don't express their anger and condemnation of the billionaires he and his fellow travelers — like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-Rep., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. - Run regularly.

In Alcide's ideal world, money spent by senior Grand Rapids families on civic projects would go directly to the government, ostensibly met more evenly. But this completely diminishes the economic power of a strong philanthropic community.

Al-Sayed famously said that nobody wants a billionaire, but the problem with this socialist hokum is on beautiful display in Grand Rapids. In fact, the billionaires on Earth make the places they live much better and plant the civic seeds that sprout the millionaires Alcide claims.

Republican candidate Mike Rogers would be wise to point out loudly that El Cid's war with the billionaires will have a devastating effect on Michigan. Instead of demonizing the rich, government should work with them to “fill in the gaps,” as Joan puts it, and get things done without endless government bureaucracy.

David Marcus is a columnist based in West Virginia and the author of "Charade: The Covid Lies That Tore a Nation apart."

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