-
Palantir’s stocks of stock – more than 600% in one year, before this week’s slide– Has made his CEO Alex Karp a rich man. Last year, Karp sold nearly $ 2 billion in the company shares, with the majority of sales taking place in a few months around the presidential elections.
Defense contractor Palantir has been one of the most popular shares of this political cycle. Before this week’s stock, the value of Palantir has risen more than 600% since the beginning of last year. And CEO Alex Karp has benefited nicely from the wave.
Karp has sold 38 million shares of Palantir since the beginning of 2024, with a value of $ 1.88 billion, according to data from Washington Service, an investment provider. The majority of that value – $ 1.4 billion – vouchers from the sale of 25 million shares in the weeks around the presidential elections of 2024. 9 million shares were sold between 13 and 17 September for a value of $ 325, 6 million.
Karp is also planning to sell up to 9,975,000 shares of the company this year, Barron’s reported, with reference to securities applications. Against the current share price of just over $ 101, the sale would pay more than $ 1 billion.
The previous and future turnover is part of a 10B5-1 trading plan that business leaders or board members use to set transactions prior to the plan into company shares that are subsequently implemented without the involvement of the Exec.
Palantir did not respond to a request for comment.
The co-founder of Palantir had an unusual route to leading a defense contractor, who studied philosophy after the university before launching Palantir with a group of graduates from Stanford in 2004. The company initially intended as a tool for passing on founder Peter Thiel , and later by the company capital department of the Central Intelligence Agency, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Karp has distinguished himself from the conservative views of his co-founder and describes himself differently as a ‘socialist’ and ‘progressive but not awake’. Thiel is the chairman of the Palantir board of directors, a role that he has held since 2003 (Thiel, who currently owns just over 4% of the company’s shares, sold 48 million shares last year, with a value of $ 1.5 billion). Karp threw his support behind former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election and complained that Thiel’s vocal support from Trump made it harder to get things done. “
The work of Palantir with immigration and customs enforcement during the first Trump administration, including the illegal identification of immigrants in the country, received pushback from employees and others who were concerned that the software was used in ways human rights.
