Editing Ross Perot (section)

{{Short description|American businessman and politician (1930–2019)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Ross Perot
| image              = RossPerotColor.jpg
| caption            = Perot in 1986
| birth_name         = Henry Ross Perot
| birth_date         = {{birth date|1930|06|27}}
| birth_place        = [[Texarkana, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{death date and age|2019|07|09|1930|06|27}}
| death_place        = [[Dallas]], Texas, U.S.
| resting_place      = [[Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery]], Dallas
| party              = {{plainlist|
* [[Independent politician|Independent]] (before 1995)
* [[Reform Party of the United States of America|Reform]] (1995–2000)
* [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (2000–2019)
}}
| spouse             = {{marriage|Margot Birmingham|1956}}
| children           = 5, including [[Ross Perot Jr.|Ross&nbsp;Jr.]]
| education          = {{plainlist|
* [[Texarkana College]]
* [[United States Naval Academy]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])
}}
| website            = {{Official website|www.rossperot.com}}
| signature          = Ross Perot Signature.png
| module             = {{Infobox military person | embed=yes
| branch        = [[United States Navy]]
| serviceyears  = 1953–1957
| rank          = [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]]
| module              = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=|title=Ross Perot's voice|type=speech|description=Ross Perot speaks on American Competitiveness and the [[Protectionism|protection]] of American Jobs<br/>Recorded October 15, 1992}}
}}
}}

'''Henry Ross Perot Sr.''' ({{IPAc-en|p|ə|ˈ|r|oʊ|audio=En-us-Perot.oga}} {{respelling|pə|ROH}}; June 27, 1930&nbsp;– July 9, 2019) was an American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was the founder and chief executive officer of [[Electronic Data Systems]] and [[Perot Systems]]. He ran an [[Independent politician|independent]] [[Ross Perot 1992 presidential campaign|campaign]] in the [[1992 United States presidential election|1992 U.S. presidential election]] and a [[third party (United States)|third-party]] [[#1996 campaign|campaign]] in the [[1996 United States presidential election|1996 U.S. presidential election]] as the nominee of the [[Reform Party of the United States of America|Reform Party]], which was formed by [[grassroots]] supporters of Perot's 1992 campaign. Although he failed to carry a single state in either election, both campaigns were among the stronger [[List of third party performances in United States presidential elections|presidential showings by a third party or independent candidate]] in U.S. history.

Born and raised 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 $2.4&nbsp;billion (${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=2.4|start_year=1984|r=1|fmt=c}}&nbsp;billion in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}). Perot established [[Perot Systems]] in 1988 and was an [[angel investor]] for [[NeXT]], a computer company founded by [[Steve Jobs]] after he left [[Apple Inc.|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 the presidency of [[George H. W. Bush]], Perot became increasingly active in politics and strongly opposed both the [[Gulf War]] and the 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 [[e-democracy|electronic direct democracy]]. A June 1992 Gallup poll showed Perot leading a three-way race against President Bush and presumptive [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee [[Bill Clinton]]. Perot 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 did not win any electoral votes, but won over 19.7&nbsp;million votes for an 18.9% share of the popular vote. 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 of the United States of America|Reform Party]] as a vehicle for his campaign. He won 8.4 percent of the popular vote against President Clinton and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee [[Bob Dole]].

Perot did not seek public office again after 1996. 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 $3.9&nbsp;billion (${{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=3.9|start_year=2009|r=1|fmt=c}}&nbsp;billion in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}). According to ''[[Forbes]]'', Perot was the 167th richest person in the United States as of 2016.<ref>"Forbes 400: 2017 Ranking". ''Forbes''. October 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.</ref> Perot died from [[leukemia]] in [[Dallas]], Texas, on July 9, 2019.<ref name="nyt" /> He was 89 years old.