- Alex Karp said if he were not running Palantir, he’d move to his “hermit-like location.”
- At the Economic Club of New York, Karp said he’d lean into hobbies like Tai Chi, shooting guns, and reading.
- Karp, known for being an eccentric leader, has run Palantir since 2004.
Alex Karp said if he were not running Palantir, he probably wouldn’t be running another company — he’d be living like a “hermit” and focusing on his hobbies.
The billionaire CEO of the big-data analytics company made the comments on Monday while speaking at the Economic Club of New York.
When asked what he’d be doing if he wasn’t leading Palantir, Karp said that while he is suited to running the defense contractor, he wasn’t “built to run another company.”
“I am a little bit of a hermit, and the minute they fire me, I’m going to be moving back to my hermit-like location and doing my hermit dance,” he said, adding that involved things like reading, shooting guns, Tai Chi, and cross country skiing.
Karp also said he’s an “introvert” and is not interested in running for office.
He added that he’d also spend time with some friends and might engage in some “debaucherous behavior,” prompting laughter from the crowd.
Karp has gained a reputation as an eccentric leader in Silicon Valley known for being a health and wellness fanatic who keeps Tai Chi swords in his office.
Karp has been CEO of Palantir, which he cofounded, since 2004, building it into a multi-billion-dollar company and major government contractor.
During its earnings call earlier this month, the company reported US revenue growth of 52% year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, beating analyst expectations. However, Palantir’s stock has taken a hit over the past week due to the possibility of defense spending cuts.
During the talk on Monday, Karp also shared why he left academia. After attending law school at Stanford University, Karp pursued a Ph.D. in philosophy at a university in Germany.
“I left academia because I felt like I was almost always right, and it didn’t matter because it was all politics,” Karp said. “So I had to go into business because in business there is a deliverable.”
