It seems only natural for EDS founder Ross Perot and his son, Ross Perot Jr., to receive the 25th Anniversary H. Neil Mallon Award from the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Fort Worth. The two high-profile businessmen will do so at a Hyatt Regency Dallas dinner on Oct. 25—the first time in their careers they’ve been jointly honored.
The Mallon is presented annually to individuals who’ve excelled in promoting DFW’s “international focus.” And, these days, the Perots certainly have global affairs on their minds.
Lately Ross Sr., chairman emeritus of Perot Systems Corp., which he also founded, can sound like a modern-day Paul Revere, decrying the threat to America’s economic competitiveness posed by fast-growing rivals like India and China. And Perot fils, chairman of both Perot Systems and Hillwood Development Co., is overseeing more and more international work for those companies. He’s especially active in Abu Dhabi, where Hillwood has begun developing a mixed-use real estate project.
In a recent chat about their upcoming honor, father and son said the local World Affairs Council provides DFW with a valuable perspective. Later, the discussion turned to their relationship. “It’s a great honor to work with your hero, which I’m able to do every day,” Perot Jr. said. Commented Perot Sr.: “We’ve always been best friends.
“It’s just a joy to be his father,” he went on. “When we had the EDS campus out on Forest Lane—Ross was about 10 years old at the time—we had bushes to plant around the whole perimeter, and that’s a huge way around. Ross agreed to plant them for $1 apiece.
“But, neither of us knew he was going to hit rock shortly after he started digging. My first reaction was to change the price, but he says, ‘No, we made an agreement, and I’m going to honor my agreement.’ That’s all you need to know about him.”
It was an important lesson, Perot Jr. added with a laugh—one he never forgot. “As a real estate developer, I started checking for rock early on. I wouldn’t get shocked on that rock again.”
Luckily, Abu Dhabi sits on mostly sand.
