Ross Perot Jr.

Ross Perot Jr.
Perot in 2018
Born	Henry Ross Perot Jr. (1958-11-07) November 7, 1958 (age 65) Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Education	Vanderbilt University (BA)
Spouse	Sarah Perot
Children	4
Relatives	Ross Perot (father) Margot Birmingham Perot (mother)

Henry Ross Perot Jr. (born November 7, 1958^[1]) is an American businessman and real estate developer who is best known for his development of Alliance, Texas, an inland port near Dallas–Fort Worth, and making the first circumnavigation of the world in a helicopter at the age of 23.

Perot serves as the chairman for multiple companies including The Perot Group^[2] and Hillwood.^[3] He is the only son and eldest child of American billionaire businessman and former United States presidential candidate Ross Perot.

Early life

Perot was born and raised in Dallas, the son of Margot (née Birmingham) and Ross Perot. He graduated from St. Mark's School of Texas in 1977.^[4] After graduating from Vanderbilt University, he served in the United States Air Force for eight and a half years.^[5]

Career

In 1982, Perot co-piloted the first flight by helicopter around the world.^[6] Using a Bell 206 L-1 Long Ranger II, Perot completed the circumnavigation on September 30, 1982.^[7]

Perot serves as chairman of The Perot Group, which manages the various Perot family interests that include real estate, oil and gas, and financial investments. He developed the Fort Worth Alliance Airport and is a large real estate developer. Hillwood's residential division, is building Harvest, a $1 billion, 1,150-acre development in Northlake and Argyle. Hillwood Communities recently kicked off developments including the 1006.5 acres development Pomona in Manvel, TX and the 787-acre Union Park in Little Elm.^[8]

From 2002 to 2003, Perot served as chairman of the Texas Governor's Task Force for Economic Growth.^[9] In March 2007, presidential candidate Mitt Romney, seeking the Republican Party nomination selected Perot as a member of his Texas finance committee.^[10]

Perot was a member of the Board of Directors for Dell Inc. Perot is a board member of Guide IT.^[11] He is Chairman of the United States Air Force Memorial Foundation and Co-Chairman of the EastWest Institute. He also sits on the Board of Trustees of St. Mark's School of Texas, Southern Methodist University, and Vanderbilt University.^[9] In 2010 Forbes reported Perot's net worth at $1.5 (~$1.98 billion in 2023) Billion.^[12] Perot was the 1983 recipient of the Langley Gold Medal from the Smithsonian Institution.^{[citation needed]}.

In April 2020, Governor Greg Abbott named Perot to the Strike Force to Open Texas – a group "tasked with finding safe and effective ways to slowly reopen the state" amid the COVID-19 pandemic.^[13]

Dallas Mavericks ownership

Perot purchased the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team from original owner Don Carter in March 1996.^[14][15] Under his four-year tenure, the Mavericks made no more progress on the court than they had in Carter's final seasons, and nowhere near what they would do under his successor, Mark Cuban. It was said that he was a basketball novice, or uninterested in the sport^[16] and was using his position as team owner to front his projects, most notably Victory Park, which was anchored by the American Airlines Center which opened in 2001. He sold the team to Cuban in January 2000 and the franchise did not have a losing season in any of the subsequent fifteen seasons, winning two Western Conference championships and the 2011 NBA championship.

In May 2010, Perot, who retained 5 percent ownership, filed a lawsuit against Cuban, alleging the franchise was insolvent or in imminent danger of insolvency. In June 2010, Cuban responded in a court filing maintaining Perot is wrongly seeking money to offset some $100 million (~$132 million in 2023) in losses on the Victory Park real estate development. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2011, due in part to Cuban asserting proper management of the team due to its recent victory in the 2011 NBA Finals.^[17] In 2014, the 5th Circuit Court affirmed that decision on appeal. Following his initial defeat, Perot attempted to shut out Mavericks fans from use of the parking lots he controlled near the American Airlines Center. Perot retains a minority stake in the team, as does his predecessor Carter's estate.

Major League Cricket ownership

In 2023, it was announced that Perot, Jr. was one of the owners of Major League Cricket team Texas Super Kings. Anurag Jain, partner with Perot Jain and chairman of Access Healthcare, and Ross Perot Jr., chairman of the Perot Group, were among the investors in a Series A funding round that will help MLC build facilities across the country.

Political activity

Perot contributed $660,000 to Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign.^[18]

Honors

• In 1982, President Ronald Reagan presented Perot with the Gold Medal Award for Extraordinary Service.
• In 1983, Perot was the recipient of the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.^[19]
• In 2007, Perot was the recipient of the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship.
• In 2007, Perot was the recipient of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service.
• In 2008, Perot and his father, H. Ross Perot, jointly received the H. Neil Mallon Award presented by the World Affairs Council - Dallas/Fort Worth.^[20]
• In 2012, Perot was inducted into the Texas Transportation Hall of Honor.^[21]
• In 2019, National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) bestowed its 2019 Meritorious Service to Aviation Award to Perot.^[22]
• In 2022, the National Eagle Scout Association awarded him the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award.

See also

• Notable alumni of St. Mark's School of Texas

References

External links

• Bio at AllianceTexas.com
• Bio at GuideIT.com
• Appearances on C-SPAN

This page was last edited on 28 March 2024, at 17:09