Alex Karp Has Money and Power. So What Does He Want? | Pro Hub of News
Alex Karp never learned to drive.
“I was too poor,” he explained. “And then I was too rich.”
Karp, the co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, the influential and secretive data analytics company, doesn’t trust himself to drive, ride a bike, or ski downhill.
“I’m a dreamer,” he said. “I’ll start daydreaming and then I lose focus. That’s why I started doing tai chi – it really helps me focus on one thing at a time. If you’d met me 15 years ago, I would’ve spent two-thirds of the conversation lost in my own thoughts.”
What did he daydream about?
“Anything,” he said. “It could be a walk I took five years ago, a conversation from grad school, something that annoyed me, or something a colleague said that left me wondering: ‘Why did they say that? What did they really mean?’”
Karp is a fit, lean billionaire with wild salt-and-pepper curls. He comes across as charming in his introverted way (something I admire myself). He has ADHD and struggles to hide his disinterest if the topic doesn’t engage him. After a burst of rapid conversation, he needs to recharge by reading or cycling. Though he sees himself as different, he seems to enjoy standing out and takes pleasure in being provocative in interviews and onstage.
“I’m a Jewish, racially ambiguous dyslexic, so I can say anything,” he said with a grin.
Unlike many Silicon Valley execs, Karp supported President Biden, donating a large sum despite his doubts about Biden’s handling of the border and ties to Hollywood elites like Jeffrey Katzenberg. Now he’s backing Vice President Kamala Harris, though he still has plenty of criticism for his own party.
When he donates, he does so in multiples of 18 because, according to Kabbalah, 18 is a lucky number. “I gave Biden $360,000,” he said.
At 56, Karp is perfectly content spending time alone in a secluded meadow — except for his Norwegian ski instructor, Swiss-Portuguese chef, Austrian assistant, American shooting instructor, and bodyguards. (He once joked that having bodyguards makes flirting difficult.)
“This place is like heaven for introverts,” he said, gazing at his red barn from the porch of his Austrian-style home, complete with a mezuza on the door. “You can invite people over, but no one shows up.”