1930-
Billionaire Populist

Fame.

H. Ross Perot gained quite a bit of notoriety in the 1980s and personified the sometimes conflicting trends of the decade. On one hand, Perot was a self-made billionaire who proved that the capitalist system worked; on the other hand, Perot gave voice to t h e feelings or many Americans who were dissatisfied with the national direction. Perot became famous for his can-do attitude.

Billionaire.

H. Ross Perot was a billionaire by the age of thirty-eight. After serving in the U.S. Navy and working for IBM, he founded Electronic Data Systems Corporation (EDS). Perot ran the company like a combination of the FBI and the marines. EDS employees followed their charismatic boss, and if their loyalty wavered Perot reinforced it legally. EDS employees could not quit without losing their highly valuable stock awards, nor could they go to work...