Perot, Ross (1930–)

H. Ross Perot is a prominent business and civic leader, best known for running as a third party U.S. presidential candidate in 1992 and 1996 and for founding the Reform Party of the United States of America (RPUSA) in 1995.

Following his education at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and a brief stint in the U.S. Navy, Perot went to work at International Business Machines (IBM) as a salesman. After a successful career in sales, Perot left IBM in 1962 to form his own data processing company, Electronic Data Systems (EDS). In 1984, Perot sold EDS to General Motors (GM) for billions in cash and stock options.

In 1979, while Perot was still in control of EDS, two of the company's employees were arrested and ...