The self-made billionaire and 1992 independent Presidential candidate, H. Ross Perot, passed away today at the age of 89. Perot built his company, Electronic Data Systems, from the ground up in Dallas, Texas, in the early 1960’s focusing on data processing. He was also widely known as a generous philanthropist and political activist.

He was very involved in the POW/MIA Issues after the Vietnam War, and my mother (whose first husband was shot down in his F-4 Phantom over Laos and declared MIA) met Mr. Perot in the 1970s when he charted a plane and flew her and other members to Washington, D.C. for a POW/MIA rally.

In 1992, Perot ran, albeit unsuccessfully, for President as an independent, but showed that the system could support more than just two parties in any given election. Read more about his life and story at WikiPedia.