ND Billionaire Gary Tharaldson Shares Success Tips

North Dakota’s first and only billionaire Gary Tharaldson shares his secrets on being successful in business.

“I developed a real positive attitude about things and trying to be the best you can be. I’ve always shared the wealth with my employees. That’s probably the best thing I ever did and it made my company much greater.”

The former high school gym teacher bought a Super 8 motel in Valley City in 1982 and quickly began to expand his empire. He says by 1992 he built about 10 percent of all hotels in the country.

Tharaldson sold 130 hotels to Goldman Sachs for $1.2 billion in 2006.