Ling was the son of a
Catholic convert who later entered a
Carmelite monastery. Ling's mother died when he was young, and he lived for a time with an aunt in
Shreveport, Louisiana. In 1956 Ling bought L.M. Electronics, followed by Altec Electronics in 1959 and
Temco Aircraft in 1960. In 1961, he bought
Chance Vought Aircraft, merging his interests into
Ling-Temco-Vought. His empire fell apart after he acquired the money-losing Jones & Laughlin Steel Company in 1970. He had to sell subsidiaries to try to stanch the ensuing financial hemorrhage. After
antitrust issues arose, bankers forced Ling's resignation later in 1970. Ling formed several companies after his time at LTV, but none were as successful. His first comeback try, Omega-Alpha, went bankrupt in 1975. Ling died of
esophageal cancer at his Dallas, Texas home in 2004. ==References==