Texas isn’t shy about telling you it’s the best place in America to do business — and Governor Greg Abbott made sure everyone in Fort Worth heard it loud and clear.
At the Forward Fort Worth mobility innovation summit on March 24, 2026, Abbott took center stage for a fireside chat that was equal parts economic pitch, victory lap, and recruitment call. The message was simple, delivered with the confidence of a man who believes the numbers are on his side: if your business isn’t in Texas yet, you’re already behind.
A Star-Studded Stage in Cowtown
The conversation was moderated by Ross Perot Jr., chairman of The Perot Group, and Abbott was joined by Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and Hillwood President Mike Berry — a lineup that signaled this wasn’t just political theater. This was the intersection of capital, civic leadership, and ambition, all packed into one room in a city that’s been quietly becoming one of the most dynamic economic hubs in the country.
Abbott didn’t waste time. He leaned into Texas’ track record on job creation with the kind of specificity that tends to stick. “There’s no state in America that has more job opportunity than the great state of Texas,” he said. “We ranked number one for the most new jobs in the past year, number one for the most new jobs since COVID, number one for the most new jobs in America since I have been your governor — and we will continue to be the job opportunity state in the United States of America.”
Beyond Oil and Cowboys
That’s the part worth paying attention to. Texas has long leaned on energy and real estate as its economic backbone, but Abbott was emphatic that the state’s growth story is no longer a one-industry tale. The summit’s focus on mobility innovation was itself a signal — this is a state actively courting artificial intelligence, biotech, nuclear energy, and advanced manufacturing, not just oil rigs and ranches.
“We are really leading the way in a diversified economy, making sure we will be able to have the most self-sustainable state economy in the country,” Abbott told the crowd. “Almost any industry that you can think of, Texas is already leading in — and more importantly, we are attracting even more of those businesses to the state.”
That diversification push has been years in the making. Corporate relocations and expansions have accelerated steadily under Abbott’s tenure, driven by what state officials consistently describe as a pro-business mindset — low taxes, light regulation, and a workforce that keeps growing as people continue migrating from higher-cost states. Whether that formula is replicable long-term is a question economists debate. But in the near term, the results are hard to argue with.
The Pitch, Unfiltered
Still, there’s something almost theatrical about the way Abbott closes these things. He didn’t end with a policy wonk’s caveat or a measured projection. He ended with a recruitment slogan. “If you are not in Texas, this is the safest place to build your business and to raise a family,” he said. “If you are not here yet, get here quickly.”
Is it a little over the top? Maybe. But it also lands — because the underlying data, at least on job creation, gives him the runway to say it without flinching.
Texas has made clear it intends to keep evolving — not just resting on its ranking, but actively reshaping its regulatory and infrastructure environment to make it easier for emerging industries to plant roots and scale fast. The forward-looking framing of the summit itself, centered on mobility and innovation, reflects that ambition.
What It Means Going Forward
Fort Worth, for its part, is no longer content to play second fiddle to Dallas. With Hillwood’s continued development of AllianceTexas — one of the largest master-planned communities in the country — and a mayor in Mattie Parker who has been aggressive about positioning the city as a destination for corporate investment, the region has real momentum behind the rhetoric.
The question isn’t whether Texas will keep growing. It almost certainly will. The question is whether the state’s infrastructure, housing supply, and public services can keep pace with the wave Abbott keeps inviting in — and whether the diversification story holds up as global competition for high-tech industry intensifies.
For now, though, Abbott’s pitch stands. And in a room full of developers, innovators, and civic leaders in Fort Worth, it landed exactly the way he intended it to.
Get here quickly, he said. A lot of people already did.
