Doug Burgum

Doug Burgum
Official portrait, 2016
33rd Governor of North Dakota
Assumed office
December 15, 2016
LieutenantBrent Sanford
Tammy Miller
Preceded byJack Dalrymple
Personal details
Born
Douglas James Burgum

(1956-08-01) August 1, 1956 (age 68)
Arthur, North Dakota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
Karen Stoker
(m. 1991; div. 2003)
Kathryn Helgaas
(m. 2016)
Children3
ResidenceGovernor's Residence
EducationNorth Dakota State University (BA)
Stanford University (MBA)
Occupation
  • Businessman
  • investor
  • philanthropist
  • politician
Signature
WebsiteGovernment website

Douglas James Burgum (/ˈbɜːrɡəm/ BUR-gəm;[1] born August 1, 1956) is an American businessman and politician serving since 2016 as the 33rd governor of North Dakota.[2][3] He is among the wealthiest politicians in the United States and has an estimated net worth of at least $1.1 billion. He is a member of the Republican Party.[4]

Burgum was born and raised in Arthur, North Dakota. After graduating from North Dakota State University in 1978 and earning an MBA from Stanford University two years later, he mortgaged inherited farmland in 1983 to invest in Great Plains Software in Fargo. Becoming its president in 1984, he took the company public in 1997. Burgum sold the company to Microsoft for $1.1 billion in 2001. While working at Microsoft, he managed Microsoft Business Solutions. He has served as board chairman for Australian software company Atlassian and SuccessFactors. Burgum is the founder of Kilbourne Group, a Fargo-based real-estate development firm, and also is the co-founder of Arthur Ventures, a software venture capital group.

Burgum won the 2016 North Dakota gubernatorial election in a landslide. He was reelected by a wide margin in 2020.[5] In June 2023, Burgum launched a campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. He ended his candidacy in early December 2023,[6] and became an advisor on the Trump campaign's energy policy.[7]

  1. ^ Change. Doug Burgum. June 25, 2023. Event occurs at 00:27. Retrieved August 20, 2024 – via YouTube.
  2. ^ "Doug Burgum elected Governor; speech upcoming on WDAY". Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  3. ^ Karlgaard, Rich (May 21, 2020). "North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum Talks COVID, Re-Opening, His Controversial Use Of Contact Tracing – And Applying His Software Success To State Government Leadership". Forbes. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  4. ^ Gabriel, Trip (June 5, 2023). "The 2024 G.O.P. Field Balloons This Week, Adding Three New Candidates: Chris Christie and Doug Burgum are set to announce their presidential campaigns this week, and Mike Pence has already filed paperwork". New York Times.
  5. ^ Forum staff reports (January 14, 2016). "Live stream: Doug Burgum announcement at 11 a.m." INFORUM.
  6. ^ Weisman, Jonathan (December 4, 2023). "Doug Burgum, Wealthy North Dakota Governor, Ends White House Run". The New York Times.
  7. ^ Dawsey, Josh; Joselow, Maxine (May 9, 2024). "What Trump promised oil CEOs as he asked them to steer $1 billion to his campaign". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286.