A native of Dazey, Tharaldson built up a fortune by developing and managing motels. He later expanded into other large real estate investments and also has financed an ethanol plant near Casselton. In 1998, he was listed among the Forbes 400 richest Americans.
Gary Tharaldson, founder of Tharaldson Commercial, began his hospitality career by purchasing his first hotel in Valley City, N.D., in 1982. Over the next few years, Tharaldson began to build additional hotels in smaller, regional markets. In 1987, he sold nine Super 8 motels for a combined net profit of over $5 million.
Since Tharaldson is a hotel magnate, of course he has some sound advice when it comes to playing Monopoly. However, it shouldn’t come as a shock, that he hates to lose.
In January, Tharaldson filed suit in Nevada against Scott, alleging that he was being led into a role as guarantor of the loans under false pretenses and that he could not be held liable for the soured investments.
Tharaldson graduated from Valley City State College with a double major in business administration and physical education. He originally got his start as a gym teacher in Leonard, N.D., and still holds on to those lessons he learned during this time.
He follows a strict 25-40 rule, which means that he only spends 25 hours a week in the office or field but another 40 hours thinking about ways to improve his businesses.
Tharaldson takes an actual interest in his employees. He takes time to get to know his 30 employees in Fargo and actively asks about their children, particularly their children’s involvement in sports. That interests goes a long way with his employees.
Tharaldson quickly realized that his salary of $5,800 a year as a gym teacher wasn’t going to be enough for the life he wanted. That’s when he got into selling insurance. Despite his insurance company eventually taking off, Tharaldson realized he wasn’t a natural born salesman.
Born in Dazey, N.D., a small town with a population of about 200 people at the time, about an hour and a half northwest of Fargo, Tharaldson has come a long way since his upbringing. His father was a contractor and Tharaldson was one of six kids. During his senior year at high school, he lived and worked on a farm as a farmhand. Despite all his successes, Tharaldson hasn’t forgotten where he came from.
However, he knew what his niche was: limited service business-suite hotels. He was able to drastically cut the normal building and operational costs of running a hotel while still maintaining high quality service for customers. This yielded above average profit margins for the hotel industry.
Tharaldson has been an avid softball player and that competitiveness has been evident throughout his entire life. That drive to win continually pushes him in business to do more and is why he’s not going to just coast despite all his accomplishments. That competitiveness also creates a curiosity to get to know his employees better.
One year later, the unfinished project was halted with millions of dollars in liens filed against its developer. A native of Dazey, Tharaldson built up a fortune by developing and managing motels. He later expanded into other large real estate investments and also has financed an ethanol plant near Casselton.
In early 2008, Tharaldson and his financial adviser , Brad Scott, owner of Bismarck’s Scott Financial Services , were part of a financing deal that assembled 29 banks in North Dakota and other states to invest in an ambitious Nevada construction project.
Locally, his philanthropy has benefited the University of Mary, which named its business school for him. In January, Tharaldson filed suit in Nevada against Scott, alleging that he was being led into a role as guarantor of the loans under false pretenses and that he could not be held liable for the soured investments.
Clayman noted that Tharaldson was already invested in the project before the Bank of Oklahoma and the other banks became involved in its financing, at which point the developer had already defaulted on the original financing package.
Gary Tharaldson, founder of Tharaldson Commercial, began his hospitality career by purchasing his first hotel in Valley City, N.D., in 1982. Over the next few years, Tharaldson began to build additional hotels in smaller, regional markets. In 1987, he sold nine Super 8 motels for a combined net profit of over $5 million.
Don Cape serves as Director of Development for Tharaldson Commercial with direct responsibility over all facets of development.
Joe Blagg has over sixteen years of experience in real estate development, finance and asset management. He has successfully managed all aspects of a wide variety of commercial and residential developments.
Curtis Bunce has over 25 years of diversified commercial real estate experience in a combination of entrepreneurial ventures and large-scale real estate enterprises including acquisition, leasing, tenant representation and development. Curtis joined Tharaldson in May of 2006.
As Construction Manager, Jonathan Boyd is responsible for managing all aspects of construction activities from conception to completion. He has been instrumental in numerous high-end projects including luxury single-family residences, commercial office buildings and multi-family projects.