Gary Tharaldson (born 1945) is an American

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

and founder of the Tharaldson Companies. As of 2019, Tharaldson is the wealthiest individual in North Dakota, and the state's only billionaire. Gary Tharaldson was born in and grew up in Dazey, North Dakota. He graduated from Valley City State University with degrees in Business Administration and Physical Education. He did graduate work at

North Dakota State University North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

in Fargo and taught school in Leonard, North Dakota for two years. He has been extensively involved at the

University of Mary The University of Mary (UMary or simply Mary) is a private, Benedictine university near Bismarck, North Dakota. It was established in 1959 as Mary College. The university is the largest degree-granting institution in western North Dakota. It ...

in Bismarck, North Dakota, lending his name and acumen to the University's "Gary Tharaldson School of Business", serving for a time on the University's Board of Trustees, and receiving an honorary doctorate from the University in 2018. Tharaldson Hospitality builds and operates hotels across the United States. Tharaldson Companies was established in 1982 by Gary Tharaldson, with the purchase of a

Super 8 Motel Super 8, formerly Super 8 Motels, is an American hotel brand, being the world's largest budget hotel chain with over 2,000 locations worldwide. The chain is a subsidiary of Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. The original room cost was $8.88 per night. ...

Valley City, North Dakota Valley City is a city in Barnes County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Barnes County. The population was 6,575 during the 2020 census, making it the 12th largest city in North Dakota. Valley City was founded in 1874. Val ...

. Gary Tharaldson is listed among the 1998

Forbes 400 The ''Forbes'' 400 or 400 Richest Americans is a list published by ''Forbes'' magazine of the wealthiest 400 American citizens who own assets in the U.S., ranked by net worth. The 400 was started by Malcolm Forbes in 1982 and the list is pub ...

Richest Americans, and his organization, since its establishment, has grown to be one of America's largest developers of new hotels. In 2003, Tharaldson was inducted into the

Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame The Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame (SAHF) was established in 1984 in Minot, North Dakota, by the Norsk Høstfest Association. The Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame is "an enduring means of honoring the persons of Scandinavian descent in North ...

.''Gary Tharaldson'' (Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame)
/ref> In March 2006, the Tharaldson Family sold 130 hotels to the Whitehall Real Estate Fund (Division of Goldman Sachs) for $1.2 billion in cash. The proceeds from the transaction have mostly been invested in key land properties around the nation. The assets are being managed by Diversified Asset Management based in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

References

External links

Tharaldson Companies website
American real estate businesspeople American chief executives People from Fargo, North Dakota Living people 1945 births Date of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Valley City State University alumni North Dakota State University alumni American people of Norwegian descent 20th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1940s-stub