Gary Tharaldson is an American entrepreneur with an estimated net worth of $900 million. He was born in and grew up in Dazey, North Dakota. He earned his degrees in Business Administration and Physical Education from Valley City State University. He did graduate work at North Dakota State University. He also taught school in Leonard, North Dakota for two years.

Tharaldson gained his estimated net worth of $900 million when he founded Tharaldson Companies in the early 80's. It is a hospitality business that operates and maintains several hotels in the United States. It started with the purchase of a Super 8 Motel in Valley City, North Dakota. It has grown intone of the most successful developers of new hotels in the country. It sold 130 hotels in 2006 to the Whitehall Real Estate Fund, Goldman Sach’s real estate arm for $1.2 billion in cash. The proceeds were invested in key land properties in various states. The assets are managed by Diversified Asset Management located in Las Vegas.