Alexander Karp
Palo Alto, California
Doctor of Jurisprudence, Stanford University | Bachelor of Arts/Science, Haverford College
United States
Palantir Technologies
software firm, Self Made
$1,300,000,000
1717
#1717 Billionaires 2019
Global Game Changers 2016
Cofounder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, Alex Karp oversees the data-mining startup that received early backing from CIA investment arm In-Q-Tel.The company does contract work for government agencies like the NYPD, and is reportedly the largest holder of real estate in Palo Alto.In 2015, Palantir raised $880 million in venture funding that in turn valued the company at $20 billion. Karp met Palantir cofounder and billionaire Facebook investor Peter Thiel while at Stanford Law School.Karp managed money before starting Palantir in 2004, and occasionally teaches meditation classes at the company.
In addition to his J.D. degree from Stanford, Karp holds a Ph.D. in neoclassical social theory from the Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany.The rumors that Palantir helped track down bin Laden, and Palantir's failure to reject them, have reportedly led to a rocky relationship with the CIA.
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