Although the family lived in modest circumstances, Perot has repeatedly stated that he was born rich because of his parents. Beginning at age seven, Perot worked at various jobs throughout his boyhood, including: breaking horses, selling Christmas cards, selling magazines, selling garden seeds, buying and selling bridles and saddles, buying and selling horses and calves, delivering newspapers, collecting for classified ads.
He entered the United States Naval Academy in 1949 and graduated in 1953. While at the Navel Academy, he served as class president, chairman of the honor committee, and battalion commander. After graduation, Perot served at sea for four years on a destroyer and an aircraft carrier.
In 1956, he married Margot Birmingham from Greensburg, Pennsylvania, whom he met while a midshipman at the Naval Academy.
Upon his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1957, Ross and Margot settled in Dallas where he went to work for IBM's data processing division as a salesman. Margot taught school during the early years of their marriage. In 1962, she loaned Perot $1,000 from her savings account to start a one-man data processing company. He named the company Electronic Data Systems. Today, EDS is a multi-billion corporation employing more than 70,000 people.
Ross and Margot have been married for 38 years. They live in Dallas and have five children -- Ross Jr., Nancy, Suzanne, Carolyn and Katherine. The Perots currently have eight grandchildren.
In 1969, the U.S. government asked Perot to determine what action might be taken to improve the brutal treatment our POW's were receiving in Southeast Asia. He worked on this project for the next four years, placing himself and his family at considerable personal risk, until the prisoners were released in 1972 at the end of the Vietnam War. In recognition of his efforts, Perot received the Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the highest civilian award presented by the Department of Defense.
When two EDS employees were taken hostage by the Iranian government in 1979, Perot directed a successful rescue mission composed of EDS employees and led by Colonel Arthur "Bull" Simons. Perot personally went into Iran, and inside the prison where his associates were held. Noted author, Ken Follett, wrote a best-selling novel, On Wings of Eagles, about the rescue. An NBC-TV miniseries was later made about the event.
Later that same year, the governor of Texas requested Perot's help in dealing with the growing problem of the use of illegal drugs in the state. Perot led the Texans' War on Drugs Committee that proposed five laws to make Texas the least desirable state for illegal drug operations. All five bills were passed by the legislature and signed into law.
In 1982, another Texas governor asked for Perot's assistance to improve a deteriorating situation -- the quality of public education in the state. Recognizing that a first-class educational system is the foundation for economic improvement, Perot led the effort to reform the school system. This program resulted in major legislative changes and improvements in Texas public schools.
Perot accepted another challenge that same year when he sold EDS to General Motors for $2.5 billion. The ownership that he retained in the company made him GM's largest individual stockholder and a member of the board of directors. After major disagreements over the quality of GM automobiles, Perot resigned from the GM board in 1986. In 1988, he started a new computer service company, Perot Systems. Today that company operates in the United States and Europe.
Perot has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including:
- The Winston Churchill Award,
- The Raoul Wallenberg Award,
- The Jefferson Award for Public Service,
- The Patrick Henry Award,
- The National Business Hall of Fame Award,
- The Sarnoff Award,
- The Eisenhower Award,
- The Smithsonian Computerworld Award
- and The Horatio Alger Award.
thanks for this information
ReplyDeleteyou welcome and if you need more please ask
Deletereally interesting story!!
ReplyDeleteINDEED IT IS :)
Delete