                          BIOGRAPHY OF ROSS PEROT



Ross  Perot  was  born June 27, 1930 in Texarkana, Texas.  He  grew  up  in 
Texarkana where he attended public schools and Texarkana Junior College.

Perot's parents, Ross and Lulu May Perot, have been the major influences in 
both his and his sister Bette's lives.  Although the family lived in modest 
circumstances, Perot as repeatedly stated that he was born rich because  of 
his parents.

Beginning  at age seven, Perot worked at various jobs throughout  his  boy-
hood, including:

     - Breaking horses
     - Selling Christmas cards
     - Selling garden seeds
     - Selling magazines
     - 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 Naval 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 
aircraft carrier.

In  1956, he married Margot Birmingham from Greensburg, Pennsylvania,  whom 
he  met while a midshipman at the Naval Academy.  Upon his  honorable  dis-
charge  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 names the company Electronic Data Systems.   Today, 
EDS  is  a  multi-billion dollar corporation, employing  more  than  70,000 
people.

Ross  and  Margot have been married for thirty-five years.   They  live  in 
Dallas.   They have five children - Ross Jr., Nancy, Suzanne, Carolyn,  and 
Katherine.   The Perots currently have four grandchildren, and are  looking 
forward to the births of two more this year.

In  1969, the US 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  1973 at the end of the 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, write a best-selling novel, On Wings of Eagles, about the  rescue.  
An NBC Television miniseries was later made about this 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 the illegal drug operations.   All 
five bills were passed by the legislature and signed into law.

In  1984, another Texas governor asked for Perot's assistance with a  dete-
riorating situation - the quality of public education in the state.  Recog-
nizing that a first-class educational system is the foundation for economic 
improvement,  Perot  led  the effort the 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  1983,  Perot  started a new computer service  company,  Perot  Systems.  
Today the company operates in the United States and Europe.

Perot as been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including:

     The  Winston Churchill Award.  Perot was the third recipient  and  the 
     only business to receive this award, given to those who best exemplify 
     the imagination, boldness, and vigor of the late British prime  minis-
     ter.  The presentation was made by Prince Charles in 1986.

     The  Raoul  Wallenberg Award.  As the first recipient  of  the  award, 
     Perot was honored for a lifetime of service that embodies the  spirit, 
     courage, and dedication of Raoul Wallenberg, the Swedish diplomat  who 
     saved more than 100,000 Hungarian Jews from the Nazis during World War 
     II.

     The Jefferson Award for Public Service.

     The Patrick Henry Award.  Perot was the first recipient of this  award 
     given to an American for outstanding service to his country.

     The National Business Hall of Fame Award.

     The Sarnoff Award for contributions to the electronics industry.

     The Eisenhower Award for support of our Armed Forces.

     The  Smithsonian Computerworld Award.  As the first recipient of  this 
     award,  Perot  was recognized for his contributions  to  the  computer 
     industry.

     The  Horatio Alger Award.  This award is presented to individuals  who 
     overcome obstacles to achieve significant success in the careers.

In  1984,  Perot purchased the only copy of the Magna Carta that  has  ever 
been allowed to be taken out of Great Britain.  It has been placed on  loan 
to the National Archives in Washington, DC where it is displayed  alongside 
the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

The Perot family is actively involved in charitable and civic activities to 
help the needy.  They have given over $100 million to these causes.

