In 1982, Perot co-piloted the first flight by
helicopter around the world. Using a
Bell 206 L-1 Long Ranger II, he completed the circumnavigation on September 30, 1982. Perot chairs The Perot Group, which manages the Perot family's various interests, including real estate, oil and gas, and financial investments. He developed the
Fort Worth Alliance Airport and is a large real estate developer. Hillwood's residential division is building Harvest, a $1 billion, 1,150-acre development in Northlake and Argyle. Hillwood Communities recently kicked off developments including the 1006.5 acres development Pomona in
Manvel and the 787-acre Union Park in
Little Elm. From 2002 to 2003, Perot chaired the Texas Governor's Task Force for Economic Growth. In March 2007, presidential candidate
Mitt Romney, seeking the
Republican Party nomination, selected Perot as a member of his Texas finance committee. Perot was a member of the board of directors for
Dell Inc. He is a board member of Guide IT. He chairs the
United States Air Force Memorial Foundation and co-chairs the
EastWest Institute. He also sits on the board of trustees of St. Mark's School of Texas,
Southern Methodist University, and Vanderbilt University. Perot was the 1983 recipient of the
Langley Gold Medal from the
Smithsonian Institution. In April 2020, Governor
Greg Abbott named Perot to the Strike Force to Open Texas, a group "tasked with finding safe and effective ways to slowly reopen the state" during the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Dallas Mavericks ownership Perot purchased the
Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team from original owner
Don Carter in March
1996. During his four-year tenure, the Mavericks made no more progress on the court than they had in Carter's final seasons and nowhere near what they did under his successor,
Mark Cuban. It was said that he was a basketball novice, or uninterested in the sport, and was using his position as team owner to front his projects, most notably
Victory Park, which was anchored by the
American Airlines Center, which opened in 2001. He sold the team to Cuban in January 2000 and the franchise did not have a losing record in any of the next 15 seasons, winning two Western Conference championships and the
2011 NBA championship. In May 2010, Perot, who retained 5% ownership, sued Cuban, alleging the franchise was insolvent or in imminent danger of insolvency. In June 2010, Cuban responded in a court filing maintaining Perot was wrongly seeking money to offset $100 million (~$ in ) in losses on the Victory Park real estate development. The lawsuit was dismissed in 2011, due in part to Cuban asserting proper management of the team due to its recent victory in the
2011 NBA Finals. In 2014, the
5th Circuit Court affirmed that decision on appeal. After his initial defeat, Perot attempted to prevent Mavericks fans from using the parking lots he controlled near the
American Airlines Center. Perot retains a minority stake in the team, as does Carter's estate.
Major League Cricket ownership In 2023, it was announced that Perot was one of the owners of
Major League Cricket team
Texas Super Kings. ==Political activity==