The controversial wife of a Minnesota billionaire who has snapped up dozens of properties in a sleepy beach town has threatened to sue family members and neighbors who speak about her in the media.
Kathy Cargill, 66, became the target of suspicion when she started buying homes on Park Point, a sandbar between Lake Superior and Duluth Harbor, in December 2022.
Anger mounted when, in an article in the Wall Street Journal, she blasted the community and the mayor, calling them “close-minded” and claiming the mayor “peed in his Cheerios” by asking her to reveal her views on the properties to make.
Then journalists from Minneapolis Sterren-Tribune While trying to dig into Cargill’s private life, sources close to her remained tight-lipped.
Dozens of family members, neighbors, former colleagues and business associates declined to speak. Some told the publication they feared being sued, while others claimed to have signed non-disclosure agreements.
When a Star-Tribune reporter reached her for comment, “Cargill directed an expletive at the reporter before hanging up.”
Kathy Cargill, 66, has reportedly threatened to sue former employees who speak about her to members of the media
The wife of billionaire heir James R. Cargill II began buying up properties in Park Point, Minnesota last year and declined to reveal her plans
Amid a housing shortage in the city of Duluth, the move was not well received. Nine of the homes have already been demolished, while three others are slated for demolition
The Wisconsin native is married to James R. Cargill II, one of 12 heirs to agricultural giant Cargill. At the time of writing, Forbes estimated his net worth at approximately $4.6 billion.
Before marrying into the fabulously wealthy family in 2012, Cargill worked as a real estate agent and trail manager for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
While the couple led a private life, Cargill was featured in a video in 2019 showing off her expensive collection of McLaren supercars.
About four years ago, she made waves when a company called North Shore LS, LLC. began purchasing real estate on her behalf for much more than its appraised value. Several houses, described by Cargill as ‘junk’, were demolished.
Amid a housing shortage in the city of Duluth, the move was not well received. Mayor Roger Reinert wrote a letter to the billionaire asking her to share her plans for the 13 houses and 22 plots of land she had captured.
Nine of the homes have been demolished and three have been given a permit for demolition.
“Any loss of housing is not helpful,” Reinert wrote in his appeal, in which he or her representatives requested a meeting with city staff and members of the Park Point Community Club.
Instead of informing him, Cargill unleashed scathing criticism of the mayor and the community as a whole. Wall Street Journal piece last month.
Among the purchases is a parcel of land at 1314 Minnesota Avenue. The house on that plot was purchased in February 2023 and subsequently demolished
1239 Minnesota Avenue was purchased for $500,000, although it was appraised at only $239,500. Down the street, 1221 Minnesota Avenue was purchased for $300,000
Cargill drew ire when she called the community “small-minded” and claimed Mayor Roger Reinert had “peed in his Cheerios” by questioning its motives
Following her comments, locals donated hundreds of boxes of cereal to a food drive in the city. Reinert (far left, back) was photographed with a box of Cheerios at the drop-off location
Other locals were more outspoken, including those who hung a banner along Minnesota Avenue that read, “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be kind.”
The 66-year-old claimed her original plans were to improve the neighborhood with pickleball courts and a coffee shop, but she had a change of heart.
“The good plans I have there for beautifying, modernizing and refurbishing Park Point park or building that sports field, forget about it,” she said. “There is another community with more hospitable people than that small-minded community.”
As for the mayor, Cargill claimed he “kind of peed his Cheerios” by questioning her motives, “and I’m going to do absolutely nothing to benefit that community.”
In the days that followed, locals donated hundreds of boxes of cereal to a food drive in the city. Reinert himself was in the photo with a box at the delivery location.
The campaign, dubbed the “Cheerio Challenge,” also raised an estimated $50,000 and contributions from states as far away as Florida and California.
Other community members were more outspoken about their distaste for Cargill and its comments.
A banner was strung along a fence on the 2900 block of Minnesota Avenue, where Cargill owns several properties, reading: “It’s nice to be important, but it’s more important to be nice.” The protest piece was quickly removed.
Reinert declined to respond directly to Cargill. But in a statement he said: “We have to take housing into account. We talk every day about how to expand inventory, and we will remain vigilant on that point.”
Cargill has refused to communicate with the city, according to officials, who have been advised not to further fuel its anger.