Ross Perot was an American businessman who passed away in 2019 with a $4 billion fortune. Perot was one of the richest men in the world for many years and was well-known for both his involvement in politics and his astute business sense. Before founding Electronic Data Systems in the early 1960s, he first worked as a salesman for IBM. Perot amassed wealth after selling this company in the 1980s.
Depending on the time in his life, Ross identified as either an independent or a Republican in terms of his political activities. He had strong feelings about the problems with the Vietnam War, especially the possibility of leaving hundreds of American soldiers as POWs. After that, he was adamantly opposed to the Gulf War under George H. W. Bush.
He made the decision to run as an independent for President of the United States in 1992. He ran on a platform that opposed job outsourcing and emphasised the significance of a balanced budget, and he did surprisingly well. In 1992, he received 18.9% of the popular vote, and at one point, he even held the lead in the polls. Ross did not re-run for president in 1996 after a less successful attempt, and he largely supported Republican candidates.
Ross Perot Born: 27 June 1930
Ross Perot Died: 9 July 2019
Ross Perot Height: 1.66 m
Ross Perot Net Worth: $4 billion
Ross Perot Party: Reform Party of the United States of America
Ross Perot Early Life
In Texarkana, Texas, on June 27, 1930, Henry Ray Perot was born. He entered the United States Naval Academy in 1949 after completing his high school education in 1947. At the age of 25, Ray changed his name to “Ross” in memory of his late father. He served as a junior officer in the navy from 1953 to 1957 on destroyers and aircraft carriers.
Ross Perot Business Career
After leaving the Navy, Perot rose to become one of IBM’s top salespeople, but he soon left to launch Electronic Data Systems in 1962. Government agencies awarded lucrative contracts to EDS during this time, and after it went public in 1968, its shares soared. Two of EDS’s workers were detained in Iran while he served as its CEO. In a perilous operation overseen by a former colonel of the Special Forces, Ross personally organised their rescue.
Ross Perot Political Career
Because of growing animosity toward the Republicans during the 1992 presidential elections, Ross Perot gained support from populists. At one point, he was projected to win 39% of the vote, but after receiving harsh criticism from the media and a CIA conspiracy theory, his campaign took a severe hit. Even though he did receive a surprising amount of the popular vote, he ultimately came up short in the election.
Dana Carvey famously played him in a number of iconic Saturday Night Live sketches during this time.
Perot increased his involvement with the Republican party toward the end of his political career. Ross was a bit of a political outlier. He was clearly conservative, but he also supported gay rights and the ban on assault weapons.
Ross Perot Notable Investments
For $2.5 billion, Perot sold EDS to General Motors in 1984. He started a new company called Perot Systems four years later, and in 2009, he sold it to Dell for $3.9 billion. As a result of the deal, Ross took home about $800 million personally. He once had the chance to invest early in Microsoft, but he decided against doing so. Perot might have become one of the top ten richest people in the world thanks to this investment.
Ross offered Steve Jobs a $20 million financial lifeline in 1988, partly out of regret for not making an investment with Bill Gates, and it helped the computer company NeXT survive a particularly difficult time. Ten years later, Apple paid about $500 million to purchase NeXT. The deal that brought Jobs back to Apple also marked the beginning of a very successful turnaround for the business.
Ross Perot Death
Ross Perot passed away from leukaemia on July 9th, 2019. He was a few days away from turning 87.
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