As one of the most talked-about figures, Doug Burgum has built a significant fortune. In this article, we dive deep into the assets and career highlights.

What is Doug Burgum's net worth?

In 2016, he won the North Dakota gubernatorial election. He was reelected in 2020. He briefly was a candidate for President in the 2024 race. He is widely speculated to be a top choice forDonald Trump'sVice President, along with businessmanVivek Ramaswamyand SenatorJ.D. Vance.

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In 2012, Doug was recruited to serve on the board of directors of software company Atlassian. Upon joining the board, Doug purchased 700,000 shares for an average of $4 a share. Today he owns between $5 million and $25 million worth of Atlassian, according to his financial disclosure.

Had he held onto his shares, today, they would be worth more than $1 billion. Unfortunately, thanks at least partially to a 2003 divorce, by 2006, Doug had sold 80% of his Microsoft shares. He transferred 200,000 shares of Microsoft to his ex-wife as part of their divorce settlement. According to a 2023 financial disclosure, today, he owns between $500,000 and $1 million worth of Microsoft shares.

Doug Burgum is an American politician and businessman who has a net worth of $400 million. Doug Burgum earned his fortune from the software company Great Plains Software. He served as President of the company from 1984 to 2001, when he negotiated a sale to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion. He then worked at Microsoft as the Senior Vice President of Microsoft Business Solutions Group until he left in 2007. He was replaced by future Microsoft CEOSatya Nadella.

Under his leadership, Great Plains went public in 1997 at a $200 million valuation.

In 1981, two entrepreneurs in Fargo, North Dakota, founded a software company called Great Plains Software. In 1983 Burgum, who at the time was an associate at consulting firm McKinsey, was the first outside angel investor in Great Plains. According to legend, he leveraged his share of a 160-acre farm he inherited to come up with the $250,000 he invested. So, as he likes to joke, Doug "literally bet the farm." A year later, he left McKinsey to become Great Plains' President.

In 2001, Doug contacted his former Stanford classmateSteve Ballmer, who had recently become CEO of Microsoft, about a potential acquisition. Microsoft subsequently acquired Great Plains for $1.1 billion in stock. Burgum's cut of the sale was 1.7 million shares of Microsoft, which at the time were worth $100 million.

In summary, the total wealth of Doug Burgum reflects strategic moves.

Disclaimer: All net worth figures are estimates based on public data.