Gary Magness is the Chairman of the Magness Investment Group LLC headquartered in Denver, Colorado. The Magness Investment Group manages Gary’s extensive and diverse investment portfolio which includes significant holdings in real estate and oil and gas and administers his family foundation and numerous trusts. The Magness Investment Group is also a private holding company that oversees more than thirty operating businesses.

 

One of those businesses is Magness Land & Cattle, a premier Limousin ranching operation headquartered in Platteville, Colorado which has consistently produced outstanding Limousin Grand Champions over the years. Magness Land and Cattle most recently won both “Champion Bull and Heifer" at the American Royal Limousin Show in Kansas City, Missouri (view article). Magness Land and Cattle claimed both Premier Breeder and Premier Exhibitor honors at the show”. Magness Land and Cattle has been working in partnership with Smithfield Beef to perfect a genetically branded beef product. This partnership will verify the cow’s origin and genetic make-up to guarantee superior performance and ensure customer satisfaction. In addition, Magness Land and Cattle is working with Colorado State University to isolate a tenderness gene in cattle that will enhance future cattle marketing and profitability.

 

 

Another Magness company, Fortrust LLC, is one of the largest, most secure state-of-the-art data centers in the Rocky Mountain region. Fortrust LLC is an enterprise data center services provider specializing in “high availability” services. Its Denver Colorado facility is a 224,000 square foot world class operation. In 2006, Fortrust partnered with Consonus to provide managed services for its exclusive clientele.

 

Gary’s wide-ranging interests include real estate and aquaculture which led to the acquisition of TooMany Palms, a prime real estate asset containing a tilapia farm operation in Palm Desert California. The farm utilizes a multi-raceway re-circulating system for efficient oxygenation and produces tilapia for regional live fish markets. Tilapia, a fresh water species that thrives in warm water, is the fastest growing aquaculture crop.

 

Gary Magness was born on February 26, 1954 in Memphis, Texas, the second son of Bob and Betsy Magness. His older brother Kim was born in 1952. Both Bob and Betsy were Oklahoma natives. Betsy’s family raised cotton and Bob’s family had been in the ranching business for several generations. Bob worked on oil rigs as a young man and was a part-time cattle rancher. After his marriage to Betsy, Bob was a cottonseed Buyer and also sold cottonseed cake, a by-product of cotton used for cattle feed. Bob’s territory spanned from Texas to Montana. Bob particularly enjoyed his sales trips to Montana because he could stop off and fish along the way. One day on a routine sales trip in 1955, Bob noticed a couple of hitchhikers alongside the road next to a broken down truck. He stopped to help. The hitchhikers had been stringing cable and told him all about the fledgling cable television business. Bob was fascinated. He and Betsy sold their cattle and started their first cable system in 1956. Bob climbed poles to string the wires and Betsy ran the operation out of their kitchen. The system served 700 subscribers.

 

In 1958, when Gary Magness was four, the Magness family moved to Bozeman, Montana. Bob and Betsy felt that Montana was a great place to start a new cable company and to raise their two young boys. Bozeman is the gateway to Yellowstone Park and the family spent many summer vacations camping and fishing in the Park. They lived in Montana until 1966 when the success of their business required that they move to Denver Colorado. Gary and Kim grew up alongside the business. In fact, their first jobs required them to build microwave towers and string coaxial cable in Montana, Wyoming and Utah. In 1968, the Texas and Montana cable systems were merged into Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI) and its subsidiary Liberty Media Corporation. Two years later the company went public and grew to be one of the largest telecommunication companies in the world. Over the years TCI merged with AT&T and spun out Liberty Media Corporation as its programming arm. Liberty Media has since split into several different companies including Liberty International, the largest cable company outside of the United States. Gary Magness remains a significant stockholder in the cable industry.

 

Springing from his love of the outdoors, Gary Magness decided to pursue an agribusiness degree in college. Gary attended Pierce College in Tarzana, California and Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado. After college, Gary Magness followed in the family footsteps and became a cattle rancher. Gary was a hands-on ranch manager who did everything from feeding cattle on cold snowy mornings to fixing fences on sweltering summer afternoons. Initially he raised registered Hereford cattle. In 1981, he made a decision to phase out Herefords in favor of Limousin cattle because the Limi cows were faster growing and produced a better-tasting product. Over the years the cattle operation has grown from an initial herd of 17 cows to an operation of over 2,000 head. Along the way the business has evolved from a small commercial operation to a highly scientific business utilizing embryo transfer technology to produce purebred cattle that will thrive in any environment.

 

Gary’s passion for the cattle industry is rivaled by his love of cars. An amateur car collector for years, Gary Magness has enjoyed acquiring numerous unique vintage cars including many Shelby Mustangs. After his collection topped forty cars he decided to open a classic car dealership. He has found it exciting and rewarding to scour auctions across the country for rare vehicles. He has an eclectic inventory of classic cars for sale at his Denver Colorado dealership Mango Motors, LLC.

 

Gary Magness is also the team leader of Mango Racing. Gary and his team travel to races several times per year, primarily racing in Mexico and Las Vegas. The most famous of these races is the Baja 1000, the most demanding off-road race in the world. Gary’s team races four Pro-Trucks, an Ivan “Ironman” Stewart created race vehicle. He is the head driver of Truck 250 and also sponsors pit crews for the other Mango Racing trucks. All prize money goes back to local villages in Mexico.

 

The father of three children, Gary is married to Sarah Siegel-Magness the founder and president of So Low which is a lifestyle collection of contemporary sportswear. In addition to off-road racing and car collecting, Gary Magness enjoys fly fishing, bird hunting, golf and gourmet cooking. He is also an avid reader.

 

Gary Magness and his family have been active in supporting a number of local, national and international charities through the years. They have contributed millions to schools and universities in the Denver area including St. Anne’s and the University of Denver. He recently donated $1,000,000 to the Food Bank of the Rockies.