Perot was born and raised in Dallas, the son of Margot (nee Birmingham) and Ross Perot. He graduated from St. Mark's School of Texas in 1977. After graduating from Vanderbilt University, he served in the United States Air Force for eight and a half years.

Perot has expanded his family's fortune primarily through real estate and serves as chairman of The Perot Group, which manages the various Perot family interests that include real estate, oil and gas, and financial Investments. He is well known for his 1980s development and ownership of the Fort Worth Alliance Airport and the residential community of Heritage, which is a successful development executed by the public-private partnership Alliance Texas. Perot is also Chairman of Hillwood, which he founded in 1988. Hillwood is ranked among the top ten real estate developers in the United States and is recognized for its high-profile projects and public-private ventures.

In 1982 Perot co-piloted a FLIGHT that circled the world in a helicopter. Using a Bell 206 L-1 Long Ranger II, Perot completed the circumnavigation on September 30, 1982.

Perot purchased the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team from original owner don Carter in March 1996. Under his four-year tenure, the Mavericks made no more progress on the court as they had in Carter's final seasons, and nowhere near what they would do under his successor, Mark Cuban. It was said that he was a basketball novice, or disinterested 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 season in the 15 full seasons afterward, winning two Western Conference championships and the 2011 NBA championship.

From 2002-2003, Perot served as chairman of 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.

In May 2010, Perot, who retained 5 percent ownership, filed a lawsuit against Cuban, alleging the franchise was insolvent or in imminent danger of insolvency. In June 2010, Cuban responded in a court filing maintaining Perot is wrongly seeking money to offset some $100 million 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. Following his initial defeat, Perot attempted to shut out Mavericks fans from use of the parking lots he controlled near the American Airlines Center.

Hillwood's residential division, Hillwood Communities, was awarded by D Magazine’s D CEO as "Outstanding Single-Family Developer of the Year" in October 2015. The company has focused on acquiring highly sought after land and launching new communities with its LiveSmart platform. The LiveSmart brand entails providing homes and communities with the latest Technology in home automation and other conveniences, rigorous standards for Energy efficiency and environmental stewardship, and other lifestyle components, such as pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods with amenities that encourage activity and a sense of community. It debuted that brand with Harvest, a $1 billion, 1,150-acre development in Northlake and Argyle. Hillwood Communities recently kicked off several new LiveSmart communities in Texas, including the 1006.5 acres development Pomona in Manvel, TX and the 787-acre Union Park in Little Elm.