Henry Ross Perot (June 27, 1930 – July 9, 2019) was an American business magnate, billionaire, philanthropist, and politician. He was the founder and chief executive officer of Electronic Data Systems and Perot Systems. He ran an independent presidential campaign in 1992 and a third party campaign in 1996, establishing the Reform Party in the latter election. Both campaigns were among the strongest presidential showings by a third party or independent candidate in U.S. history.
Born in Texarkana, Texas, Perot became a salesman for IBM after serving in the United States Navy. In 1962, he founded Electronic Data Systems, a data processing service company. In 1984, General Motors bought a controlling interest in the company for $2.4 billion. Perot established Perot Systems in 1988 and was an angel investor for NeXT, a computer company founded by Steve Jobs after he left Apple. Perot also became heavily involved in the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue, arguing that hundreds of American servicemen were left behind in Southeast Asia after the Vietnam War. During President George H. W. Bush's tenure, Perot became increasingly active in politics and strongly opposed the Gulf War and ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
In 1992, Perot announced his intention to run for president and advocated a balanced budget, an end to the outsourcing of jobs, and the enactment of electronic direct democracy. A June 1992 Gallup poll showed Perot leading a three-way race against President Bush and presumptive Democratic nominee Bill Clinton. Perot briefly withdrew from the race in July, but re-entered the race in early October after he qualified for all 50 state ballots. He chose Admiral James Stockdale as his running mate and appeared in the 1992 debates with Bush and Clinton. In the election, Perot received 18.9% of the popular vote, but did not win any electoral votes. He won support from across the ideological and partisan spectrum, but performed best among self-described moderates. Perot ran for president again in 1996, establishing the Reform Party as a vehicle for his campaign. He won 8.4% of the popular vote against President Clinton and Republican nominee Bob Dole.
Perot did not seek public office again after 1996 and did not enter the 2000 Reform Party presidential primaries. He endorsed Republican George W. Bush over Reform nominee Pat Buchanan in the 2000 election and supported Republican Mitt Romney in 2008 and 2012. In 2009, Dell acquired Perot Systems for $3.9 billion. According to Forbes, Perot was the 167th richest person in the United States in 2016.
Honors and Achievements
·
In 1986, Perot became
only the third American to receive the Winston Churchill Award
for his efforts on behalf of American POWs in Vietnam in the 1960s and for
organizing the rescue of two EDS employees from a prison in Iran.
·
In 1986, Perot
received the S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private
Citizen, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.
·
Perot was inducted
into the Junior Achievement U.S. Business Hall of Fame in 1988.
·
On April 22, 2009,
Ross Perot was made an honorary Green Beret at the John F. Kennedy
Special Warfare Center and School at Fort Bragg,
North Carolina.
·
In May 2009, he was
appointed an honorary chairman of the OSS Society.
·
On September 18, 2009,
the Texarkana Independent School District
named him (1947 graduate of Texas High
School) as a 2009 Distinguished Alumnus.
·
On October 15, 2009,
the United States Military Academy at West Point awarded him with the distinguished Sylvanus Thayer Award.
·
On April 20, 2010,
Perot was presented with the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Command and
General Staff College Foundation, Inc., Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
·
In honor of Perot's
80th birthday, the bridge connecting Walton and University drives in Texarkana,
Texas, was named the H. Ross Perot Bridge.
·
On October 2, 2010,
Perot was given the William J. Donovan Award from the OSS Society
at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington, D.C. He is the 26th recipient of
the award.
·
In September 2011,
Perot accepted the Army Heritage Center Foundation's Boots on
the Ground Award.
·
On October 28, 2011,
the Perot Museum of Nature and Science
announced it was naming a new species of the dinosaur genus Pachyrhinosaurus
after the Perot family. The new species is named Pachyrhinosaurus
perotorum
Death
Perot died on July 9, 2019, at the age of 89 in Dallas, Texas from leukemia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ross_Perot
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