Ross Perot was born in Texarkana, Texas. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy, graduated in 1953, and served in the U.S. Navy from 1953 to 1957. In 1956 he married Margot Birmingham, and they had five children. After leaving the navy, Perot worked in sales at IBM. In 1962 his wife lent him the money to start his own business, Electronic Data Systems Corporation, Inc., in Dallas. Perot served as the chair of the company and its chief executive until 1984, when he sold the company to General Motors. In the 1992 presidential campaign, Perot ran as an independent candidate, paying for his campaign out of his own private resources. He dropped out of the race in July 1996, but re-entered the race three weeks before the election, believing that neither of the major-party candidates had addressed the need to reduce the federal deficit. Perot’s message proved to be popular, and he won nearly 19 percent of the vote. In 1996 he made another attempt at the presidency but was defeated once more.
