Billionaire Ross Perot, who ran twice for president, dead at 89

Self-made billionaire Ross Perot, who ran for president in 1992 and 1996, has died at age 89 after a five-month battle with leukemia, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Perot, who won19 percent of the vote as a third-party candidate in 1992, died early Tuesday at his home in Dallas surrounded by his family, family spokesman James Fuller said. The native-born Texan, who made his billions by founding Electronic Data Systems Corp., was seen by admirers as a patriot who served his country well before his two failed bids for the White House. In 1979, he financed a private commando raid to free two EDS employees being held in a prison in Iran. He was also a tireless advocate for Vietnam veterans.