Ross Perot

Henry Ross Perot, known to most as Ross Perot (prior to 1992, generally known as H. Ross Perot by the public) (born June 27, 1930), is a billionaire American businessman from Texas best known as a candidate for President of the United States (in 1992 and 1996). Perot founded Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in 1962. He later left the company, and founded Perot Systems with a similar ethos.

Early life and career

Perot was born in Texarkana, Texas to Gabriel Ross Perot and his wife Luly May. His father was a cotton broker.

Related Topics:
Texarkana, Texas - Cotton - Broker

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Henry Ross entered the United States Naval Academy in 1949.

Related Topics:
United States Naval Academy - 1949

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By the time he graduated in 1953 he was president of his class and battalion commander. By late 1954, Perot was made a lieutenant, junior grade. However, in 1955, Perot expressed great discontent with his life in the Navy in a letter to his father. He quietly served the remainder of his four-year commitment and resigned his commission.

Related Topics:
1953 - 1954 - 1955

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Ross married Margot Birminham of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, in 1956. Over the years they had five children (Ross Jr., Nancy, Suzanne, Carolyn, and Katherine). As of 2002, the Perots have nine grandchildren.

Related Topics:
Greensburg, Pennsylvania - 1956 - Ross Jr. - As of 2002

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When he left the Navy in 1957, Perot became a salesman for International Business Machines (IBM). He quickly became a top employee and tried to pitch his ideas to supervisors who largely ignored him. He left IBM in 1962 to found Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in Dallas, Texas and courted large corporations for his data processing services. Perot received lucrative contracts from the U.S. government in the 1960s, computerizing Medicare records. EDS went public in 1968 and the stock price shot up from $16 a share to $160 within days. Fortune magazine called Perot the "fastest, richest Texan" in a 1968 cover story. In 1984, General Motors bought EDS for $2.4 billion.

Related Topics:
Navy - 1957 - International Business Machines - 1962 - Electronic Data Systems (EDS) - Dallas, Texas - U.S. government - 1960s - Medicare - 1968 - Fortune - 1984 - General Motors

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Just prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the government of Iran imprisoned two of his employees in a contract dispute. Perot organized and sponsored a successful rescue. The rescue team was led by retired U.S. Army Special Forces Colonel Arthur D. ('Bull') Simons. When the team couldn't find a way to extract their two prisoners, they decided to wait for a mob of pro-Ayatollah revolutionaries to storm the jail and free all 10,000 inmates, many of whom were political prisoners. The two prisoners then connected with the rescue team, and the team spirited them out of Iran via a risky border crossing into Turkey. The exploit was recounted in a book, On Wings of Eagles by Ken Follett, which became a best-seller.

Related Topics:
1979 - Iranian Revolution - Iran - Ayatollah - Ken Follett

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In 1984, Perot bought one of the original signed copies of the Magna Carta, one of only a few to leave the United Kingdom. It is now on loan to the National Archives in Washington, D.C., where it is on display with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.

Related Topics:
1984 - Magna Carta - United Kingdom - Washington, D.C. - Declaration of Independence - Constitution

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Ross Perot put up the majority of the venture capital for Steve Jobs' NeXT computer project in 1986. Also in 1986, after heavy criticism of General Motors, which had purchased EDS, he was bought out for $700 million . In 1988 he founded Perot Systems in Plano, Texas. His son, Ross Jr., succeeded him as CEO.

Related Topics:
Venture capital - Steve Jobs - NeXT - 1986 - General Motors - 1988 - Perot Systems - Plano, Texas

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