Texas billionaire and former presidential candidate Henry Ross Perot is dead at the age of 89-years-old following a five-month fight with leukemia.
Perot, whose 19% of the vote in 1992 stands among the best showings by an independent candidate in the past century, died early Tuesday at his home in Dallas surrounded by his devoted family, family spokesman James Fuller said.
“In business and in life, Ross was a man of integrity and action. A true American patriot and a man of rare vision, principle and deep compassion, he touched the lives of countless people through his unwavering support of the military and veterans and through his charitable endeavors,” Fuller said in a statement.
As a boy in Texarkana, Texas, Perot delivered newspapers from the back of a pony. He earned his billions in a more modern way, however — by building Electronic Data Systems Corp., which helped other companies manage their computer networks. In 1968, Perot enlisted then-33-year-old Wall Streeter Ken Langone, who later co-founded Home Depot, to help take his company public.
“Meeting Ross Perot was the single biggest event in my career,” Langone said. “I’m a better person because he was in my life.”
Perot’s wealth, fame and a confident prescription for the nation’s economic ills propelled his 1992 campaign against President George H.W. Bush and Democratic challenger Bill Clinton. During the campaign, Perot spent $63.5 million of his own money and bought up 30-minute television spots. He used charts and graphs to make his points, summarizing them with a line that became a national catchphrase: “It’s just that simple.”
Javier Milei escalates Falkland Islands feud after Trump questions UK backing
Susan Collins Gives Hilarious Answer to Whether She’ll Bring Up Troy Jackson’s ‘Personal Life’ in Maine Senate Race
Top DHS lawyer turns tables on 128 ex-judges after Bar declines ‘Worst of the Worst’ complaint
Ted Cruz names ‘most powerful Democrat’ as he warns socialist rise has paralyzed bipartisanship
Blue state school district accused of defying Supreme Court, hiding gender transitions from parents
Coast Guard recovers 47 bales of suspected marijuana worth $2.4M after intercepting go-fast vessel
Trump administration proposes stripping tax-exempt status from schools using race-based programs
Karen Read’s lawyer says Clancy defense attorney may be ‘cut from a different cloth’ as deliberations drag on
US military took down approximately 100 suspected cartel drones at southern border in August
Lindsay Clancy jury wraps day 6 with bombshell one-juror standoff, deliberations to resume Friday
WATCH: Bystanders, police lift Volkswagen off woman pinned underneath after dramatic e-bike crash
Missouri high court blocks GOP-backed congressional maps ahead of midterms; Trump blasts ‘ridiculous’ ruling
Clancy Verdict Deadlocked at 11-1, Defense Pushes for Holdout to Be Removed in Heated Exchange with Judge
Excavation set to begin on Trump administration’s 250-foot triumphal arch amid legal battle
GOP candidate gets busted trying to plant drugs on his political rival
Perot’s second campaign four years later was less successful, receiving just 8 percent of the vote.
However, Perot’s ideas on trade and deficit reduction remained part of the political landscape. He blamed both major parties for running up a huge federal budget deficit and letting American jobs to be sent to other countries. The movement of U.S. jobs to Mexico, he said, created a “giant sucking sound.”
“Ross was the unusual combination of his father, who was a powerful, big, burly cotton trader — a hard-ass, practical, cut-deals person — and a mother who was a little-bitty woman who was sweet, warm, wonderful,” said Morton Meyerson, the former EDS and Perot Systems CEO. “Ross was tough, smart, practical, loved to negotiate. But he had a warm and kind heart, too.”
Forbes estimated the businessman’s net-worth to be $4.1 billion, ranking him the 478th-wealthiest individual on earth.
Perot was born in Texarkana on June 27, 1930. His father was a cotton broker; his mother a secretary.
He is survived by his wife Margot, along with his five children and 16 grandchildren.
Story cited here.
