G ary Tharaldson is a self-made American billionaire who built his fortune in the hotel and hospitality industry. He is the founder of Tharaldson Hospitality Management. A former physical education teacher and insurance salesman from a small town in North Dakota, he bought his first motel in the 1980s and has since built a massive real estate empire.

His strategy was to develop and operate a huge portfolio of limited-service hotels under major franchise brands like Marriott and Hilton, primarily in suburban and rural locations that were often overlooked by larger developers. He built hundreds of hotels across the country. In 2006, he sold a massive portfolio of over 130 of his hotels to Goldman Sachs for $1.2 billion. He has since reinvested his fortune into a diversified portfolio that includes a major ethanol production business and a vast portfolio of land in his home state of North Dakota.