BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

H. Ross Perot, Tech Billionaire And Populist Politician, Dies Age 89

This article is more than 4 years old.

H. Ross Perot died at home in Dallas today. He was 89, and suffering from leukemia. Forbes estimates his net worth to be $4.1 billion.

Americans know Perot best for his squeaky prime-time TV talks during his two presidential runs in 1992 and 1996, when as the populist Reform party candidate he railed against both big deficits and free trade, warning of the “giant sucking sound” of U.S. jobs moving to Mexico. Perot’s grandest legacy, however, was in his instrumental role in evolving the information technology industry. Despite his short stature and Texarkana twang, Perot was a true giant—especially in his vision for how computers were set to transform the world. 

The son of a Texas cotton broker, Perot (b. 1930) got his start selling Christmas cards, garden seeds and newspapers. Then he tried bronco busting and broke his nose (twice). He was an Eagle Scout before he went to the U.S. Naval Academy, then spent four years manning communications systems at sea. The Navy prepared him, in 1957, to join IBM as a salesman. He was so good at selling data processing systems and services that one year he met his annual sales quota by January 19.

IBM wouldn’t give him more equipment to sell, so he got to thinking: How about instead of just selling hardware, we also provide services like customized software and technical support. IBM rejected Perot's idea, so—as the legend goes—he went out for a haircut, picked up a copy of Reader's Digest and came across a quote from Henry Thoreau that changed his life: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.”

Not this guy. He quit IBM, and in 1962, with a check from his wife for $1,000, Perot founded Electronic Data Systems. “That’s all the money I ever put into my first company. We bootstrapped it from there,” he told Forbes in 2013. He later displayed that check prominently in his office. Perot set out to pursue his rejected strategy for IBM. And his timing couldn’t have been better, as President Lyndon Johnson (another legendary Texan) was ramping up his Great Society programs and needed all the computing power Perot could muster to administer Medicare and Medicaid. EDS also revolutionized the claims-handling process for insurers Blue Cross/Blue Shield and worked with NASA and the Pentagon. Perot recalled sneaking his son into Cape Canaveral to see the 1969 Apollo 11 launch only to find him later chatting with rocket scientist Werner von Braun.

Perot took EDS public in 1968 —it was the high-flying tech stock of its day. In 1971 the leftist magazine Ramparts tagged Perot as “America’s first welfare billionaire,” for the juicy margins on his government contracts. His billions grew. By 1984 EDS was processing healthcare claims and running government IT networks. General Motors needed some of that data-processing magic, and so it bought EDS for $2.1 billion. Perot’s take came to more than $800 million in cash and G.M. shares that he later sold for $700 million. In 1986 he was a key investor in Steve Jobs’ NeXT Computer. In 1988, on the day his G.M. noncompete was up, Perot did it all over again, founding Perot Systems with $20 million of his own money, staffing it with former EDS employees, and tapping son Ross Jr. to run it. Fast forward to 2009 and Dell bought out Perot Systems for $3.9 billion—the Perots cleared $1 billion on that one. 

In the mid 1980s, Perot launched what turned into a third billion-dollar fortune, in real estate. With son Ross Jr. he founded Hillwood Development and acquired 30,000 acres of ranchland outside Fort Worth, which they have transformed over the years into AllianceTexas, one of the nation’s biggest inland ports, with rail, truck and air access. Always keeping up with information technology, the Hillwood in recent years has become a specialist in constructing distribution centers for the likes of Amazon and data centers for Facebook. After railing against NAFTA when running for president, Perot utilized AllianceTexas to benefit from it. Hillwood recently led a $250 million, taxpayer-financed expansion of the airport there, which is a FedEx Hub. Hillwood is even working with Uber and Bell helicopters on Uber Air

There was natural gas on that land as well (the Barnett shale trend) — and a decade ago Ross Jr. orchestrated the development and sale of drilling rights for more than $500 million. In addition to "Pop's" pile, Forbes estimates the fortune of Ross Jr. at $2.3 billion.

“The world wants things done, not excuses. One thing done well is worth a million good excuses.”

Ross Perot

When Perot ran for president, he favored balancing the federal budget, creating “electronic town halls" for citizens to take part in. He was against gun control and spent millions of his own money to buy prime-time TV spots where he explained economic realities to America, with the tagline, "It's just that simple." And yet his beliefs were nuanced. In a debate against Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, he explained himself to be no Constitutional constructivist: “Keep in mind our Constitution predates the industrial revolution. Our founders did not know about electricity, the train, telephones, radio, television, automobiles, airplanes, rockets, nuclear weapons, satellites, or space exploration. There’s a lot they didn't know about. It would be interesting to see what kind of document they'd draft today. Just keeping it frozen in time won’t hack it.” After leading the polls in June 1992, he ultimately lost the 1992 race with 19% of the popular vote but no electoral votes—thus handing victory to Bill Clinton and costing George H.W. Bush a second term. He spent some $60 million of his own money on the effort.

Perot had, since the Vietnam War era, given tens of millions of dollars in support of POW/MIA recovery efforts and had made numerous trips to Vietnam in person. He spearheaded the installation in Washington, D.C., of the Air Force memorial, as well as the addition to the Vietnam War memorial of a haunting bronze sculpture of three brothers in arms. At Perot’s office (where he kept “all the stuff that my wife won’t let me keep at home”) an entire hallway was dedicated to Perot’s rescue from an Iranian prison of two EDS employees arrested in 1978. Perot, as recounted in Ken Follett’s thriller On Wings of Eagles, assembled a crack team of vets to sneak into Iran and get his people out. “My father had a huge amount of courage,” Ross Jr. told Forbes. In honor of the work he has done in support of veterans, several years ago a U.S. Special Forces team presented Perot with a walking stick. Recovered from Tora Bora, Afghanistan after 9/11, it is said to have belonged to Osama bin Laden. 

Perot is survived by wife Margot, sister Bette, son Ross Jr., daughters Nancy and Suzanne, Carolyn, Katherine, and their families.

Check out our 2013 Forbes Magazine cover story:

MORE FROM FORBESThere's A Billion Reasons Why Ross Perot Jr. Loves That 'Giant Sucking Sound'


Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInSend me a secure tip