Ross Perot, billionaire and former presidential candidate, dies at 89


Ross Perot, a billionaire pioneer in the computer services industry and a two-time independent candidate for U.S. president, died on Tuesday after a five-month battle with leukemia, The Dallas Morning News reports. He was 89.
Perot, who was born into depression-era poverty, became one the richest people in United States after founding Electronic Data Systems Corp.
In 1992, Perot ran for president as an independent against incumbent Republican George H.W. Bush and his Democratic challenger Bill Clinton. Clinton eventually won the election, but Perot garnered a shocking 19 percent of the popular vote — at the time, it had been 80 years since a third-party candidate performed so well in a presidential election. Perot ran again in 1996, albeit with less success.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Perot was known for 30-minute paid infomercials in which he produced "scary economic charts" that aided his campaign, the Morning News reports.
While he received flak from Republicans for costing Bush the presidency in '92, his son Ross Perot Jr. said the campaign was never about personal gain. "He was a businessman, frustrated by what's going on, and wanted to help fix the country," the younger Perot said of his father.
No third party candidate has since achieved what Perot did in his first go-round, but his legacy lives on in every election cycle. Read more at The Dallas Morning News.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Why bosses are hiring etiquette coaches for Gen Z staff
Under The Radar Employers claim young workers are disengaged at interviews and don't know how to behave in the office
-
How will Trump's megabill affect you?
Today's Big Question Republicans have passed the 'big, beautiful bill' through Congress
-
Scientists are the latest 'refugees'
In the spotlight Brain drain to brain gain
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami