He made the bulk of his $3.7 billion fortune by starting the data-processing company Electronic Data Systems (nyse: EDS - news - people ) and selling it for $1.4 billion in cash and stock to General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ) in 1984. In the late 1980s, he paid $20 million for a 12% stake in a computer business called NeXT, which Steve Jobs started after leaving Apple Computer (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ). Though NeXT was a dud, Apple acquired the company for $400 million in 1996, making Perot's stake worth $48 million.