Ross Perot, Jr. Biography

Henry Ross Perot, Jr. (born November 7, 1958) is a real estate developer and Chairman of the Board of Perot Systems. He is the only son of Ross Perot.

Early life

Perot was born and raised in Dallas, the son of Margot (Birmingham) and Ross Perot. He graduated from St. Mark's School of Texas in 1977. As a high school student, he won world championships in Tennessee Walking Horse competitions. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, he served in the United States Air Force for eight and a half years. He then served as chairman of the Air Force Memorial Foundation where he led the effort to build the United States Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

Career

Perot, along with Jay Coburn, became Earthrounders when they piloted the first ever round-the-world helicopter flight. In a Bell 206 L-1 Long Ranger II, the Spirit of Texas, they completed the circumnavigation on September 30, 1982. Their journey began 29 days, 3 hours, and 8 minutes earlier on September 1, and began and ended in Fort Worth, Texas. Perot and Coburn were the 1983 recipients of the Langley Gold Medal from the Smithsonian Institution.

Perot has aggressively expanded the family fortunes, primarily through real estate. He became independently prominent in the 1980s through his development and ownership of Fort Worth Alliance Airport and the surrounding area (Circle T Ranch and residential community of Heritage), a massive project that helped make Perot a powerful force within Texas. This early success also empowered Perot to gain majority ownership of the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team, a decision that was largely based on Perot's desire to develop the real estate that surrounded the basketball arena. This real estate eventually became Victory Park. Most of his interest in the Mavericks has since been sold to Mark Cuban.

In March 2007, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, seeking the Republican nod for U.S. President in 2008, announced that H. Ross Perot, Jr. would serve as a member of his Texas statewide finance committee. In 2010 Forbes reported his net worth at $1.5 Billion, and that he resides in Dallas with his wife, and four children.

From 2002-2003, Perot served as chairman of the Texas Governor's Task Force for Economic Growth. He also sits on the Boards of Directors of Dell, Inc, the Perot Foundation, and the Dallas Citizens Council. He is Chairman of the Hillwood Development Corporation, the United States Air Force Memorial Foundation, the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, Co-Chairman of the EastWest Institute. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Business Leaders Forum. He also sits on the Board of Trustees of St. Mark's School of Texas, Southern Methodist University, and Vanderbilt University. In 2011, he established the Jerome M. Fullinder Chair at SMU, named after his wife's father.