Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (right) talking with Hillwood Chairman Ross Perot Jr. about the work it took to diversify the Texas economy.
Harrison Mantas
hmantas@star-telegram.com
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott compared the state’s economy to a master planned community during a stop Tuesday at the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Abbott participated in a fireside chat with Hillwood Chairman Ross Perot Jr. to cap off the fifth annual Forward Fort Worth summit.
Years of design, planning and execution have resulted in what some have dubbed the Texas economic miracle, Abbott said, while pushing back on that framing.
“There’s no miracle behind what Texas has done,” he said.
Perot Jr. echoed that sentiment.
“This was a lot of hard work and vision by our governor and your team,” he said.
Abbott recounted how Texas diversified its economy after years of relying on the oil and gas industry.
Now Texas is leading in sectors like finance, technology and advanced manufacturing, which have made the state more resilient in the face of a possible recession, he said.
Abbott repeatedly used tech entrepreneur Elon Musk as an example of the state’s business friendly culture.
Musk recently announced plans to build a manufacturing plant near Austin to make sure his companies have the computer chips they need to operate rather than relying on manufacturing in Taiwan.
Abbott framed this move in the context of the supply chain shocks during the Covid-19 pandemic that revealed how much the United States relies on imports for basic medical supplies.
“We want to make sure that we are self-sustaining in the state of Texas, where we are capable of manufacturing, creating and delivering every need that Texans and Americans need right here in the Lone Star State,” he said.
Abbott also highlighted Texas’ growing finance sector with the Texas Stock Exchange, and efforts to expand the state’s ship building capacity.
These efforts to diversify Texas’s economy will make it one of the most self-sustaining in the world, Abbott said.
Despite these successes, Abbot said there is more work to do when it comes to property taxes and education.
He repeated his plan to reduce property taxes by controlling local government spending and restricting the growth in home value appraisals.
Abbott, who is running for a fourth term in office, also promised to eliminate school district property taxes by shifting the funding burden entirely to the state.
He also highlighted the recently passed school voucher program, which the governor argued will improve education by introducing competitive market pressure to schools.
Perot ended the chat by thanking the governor, and crediting his leadership for creating a model for how a state should be run.
This story was originally published March 24, 2026 at 3:35 PM.
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Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Harrison Mantas has covered Fort Worth city government, agencies and people since September 2021. He likes to live tweet city hall meetings, and help his fellow Fort Worthians figure out what’s going on.