London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, May 11, 2026

Palantir’s billionaire CEO gives ousted hermit $180K to rebuild cabin

Palantir’s billionaire CEO gives ousted hermit $180K to rebuild cabin

Palantir CEO Alex Karp cut 'River Dave' Lidstone a personal check last week, hermit's friend says

The billionaire founder of data analytics firm Palantir donated $180,000 to a former hermit in New Hampshire so he can rebuild his cabin, which burned down amid a property dispute earlier this month — but in a new location.

Alex Karp, the CEO of Palantir, cut David Lidstone a personal check last week so he can start over, Lidstone’s friend, Jodie Gedeon said in a Facebook post.

Lidstone, or "River Dave" as he’s known by boaters and kayakers, was jailed last month for refusing to leave the land where he was squatting for almost three decades.

His cabin was then burned to the ground earlier this month in a blaze that is being investigated by local authorities.

David Lidstone, 81, sits near the Merrimack River, Tuesday, Aug. 10, 2021, in Boscawen, N.H. Lidstone, an off-the-grid New Hampshire hermit known to locals as "River Dave," had been living in a cabin in the woods along the Merrimack River, in Canterb


Lisa Gordon, a Palantir spokesperson, confirmed that Karp made the donation to The Post but declined to comment further. The donation was first reported by The Concord Monitor.

Karp reportedly has a home in New Hampshire’s Grafton County.

"How can I express myself and my gratitude towards something like that? I start to tear up whenever I think about it," Lidstone told the Monitor. "For an old logger who always had to work, for anyone to give you that type of money, it’s incredibly difficult for me to get my head around."

Lidstone’s friend, Gedeon, told the Monitor that Lidstone will stay in a temporary house for the winter "but we’re not going to be able to build until spring."

Right now, the money is set up in "a trust for Dave and it’s going to be utilized to build him a new home," she reportedly said.

The location is being kept secret to protect Lidstone’s privacy, Gedeon said.

Alex Karp, the CEO of Palantir, cut David Lidstone a personal check last week so he can start over, Lidstone’s friend, Jodie Gedeon said in a Facebook post.


Lidstone made headlines and sparked an outpouring of support after he was arrested and accused of squatting for 27 years on property owned by Leonard Giles of Vermont.

The property, undeveloped and mostly used for timber harvests, has been owned by the same family since 1963.

Lidstone had said a prior owner in the family gave his word years ago that he could live there, but had nothing in writing. He later disputed that he was even on the property.

Smoke rises Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, from the burnt remains of a cabin in Canterbury, N.H., inhabited by 81-year-old David Lidstone.


Since his emergence in the public spotlight, Lidstone has said he’s not sure he can ever return to his former off-the-grid life as a hermit.

"I don’t see how I can go back to being a hermit because society is not going to allow it," David Lidstone said in an interview with The Associated Press.


"Maybe the things I’ve been trying to avoid are the things that I really need in life," said Lidstone, who drifted apart from his family. "I grew up never being hugged or kissed, or any close contact.

"I had somebody ask me once, about my wife: ‘Did you really love her?’ And the question kind of shocked me for a second. I … I’ve never loved anybody in my life. And I shocked myself because I hadn’t realized that. And that’s why I was a hermit. Now I can see love being expressed that I never had before."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The War Map: Professor Jiang’s Dark Theory of Iran, Trump, China, Russia, Israel, and the Coming Global Shock [Podcast]
The End of the Old Order [Podcast]
Labour Is No Longer a National Party [Podcast]
Lawyers vs Engineers: Why China Builds While America Litigates [Podcast]
The AI Gold Rush Is Coming for America’s Last Open Spaces [Podcast]
The Pentagon’s AI Squeeze: Eight Tech Giants Get In, Anthropic Gets Shut Out [Podcast]
AI Isn’t Stealing Your Job. It’s Dismantling It Piece by Piece.
Kennedy’s Quiet War on Antidepressants Sparks Alarm Across America’s Medical Establishment
Britain’s Democracy Is Now a Costume
Churchill’s Glass: The Drunk, the Doctor, and the Myth Britain Refuses to Sober Up From
The Met Gala Meets the Age of Billionaire Backlash
Russian Oligarch’s Superyacht Crosses Hormuz via Iran-Controlled Route
Gunfire Disrupts White House Correspondents’ Dinner as Trump Is Evacuated
A Leak, a King, and a Fracturing Alliance
Inside the Gates Foundation Turmoil: Layoffs, Scrutiny, and the Cost of Reputational Risk
UK Biobank Breach Exposes Health Data of 500,000, Listed for Sale on Chinese Platform
KPMG Cuts Around 10% of US Audit Partners After Failed Exit Push
French Police Probe Suspected Weather-Data Tampering After Unusual Polymarket Bets on Paris Temperatures
CATL Unveils Revolutionary EV Battery Tech: 1000 km Range and 7-Minute Charging Ahead of Beijing Auto Show
Crypto Scammers Capitalize on Maritime Chaos Near the Strait of Hormuz: A Rising Threat to Shipping Companies
Changi Airport: How Singapore Engineered the World’s Most Efficient Travel Experience
Power Dynamics: Apple’s Leadership Shakeup, Geopolitical Risks in the Strait of Hormuz, and Europe's Energy Strategy Amidst Global Challenges
Apple's Leadership Transition: Can New CEO John Ternus Navigate AI Challenges and Geopolitical Pressures?
Italy’s €100K Tax Gambit: Europe’s Soft Power Tax Haven
News Roundup
Microsoft lost 2.5 millions users (French government) to Linux
Privacy Problems in Microsoft Windows OS
News roundup
Péter András Magyar and the Strategic Reset of Hungary
Hungary After the Landslide — A Strategic Reset in Europe
Meghan Markle Plans Exclusive Women-Focused Retreat During Australia Visit
Starmer and Trump Hold Strategic Talks on Securing Strait of Hormuz Amid Rising Tensions
Unofficial Australia Visit by Prince Harry and Meghan Expected to Stir Tensions with Royal Circles
Pipeline Attack Cuts Significant Share of Saudi Arabia’s Oil Export Capacity
UK Stocks Rise on Ceasefire Momentum and Renewed Focus on Diplomacy
UK to Hold Further Strategic Talks on Strait of Hormuz Security
Starmer Voices Frustration as Global Tensions Drive Up UK Energy Costs
UK Students Voice Concern Over Proposal for Automatic Military Draft Registration
Rising Volatility Drives Uncertainty in UK Fuel and Petrol Prices
UK Moves to Deploy ‘Skyhammer’ Anti-Drone System to Strengthen Airspace Defense
New Analysis Explores UK Budget Mechanics in ‘Behind the Blue’ Feature
Man Arrested After Four Die in Channel Crossing Tragedy
UK Tightens Immigration Framework with New Sponsor Rules and Fee Increases
UK Foreign Secretary Highlights Impact of Intensified Strikes in Lebanon
UK Urges Inclusion of Lebanon in US-Iran Ceasefire Framework
UK Stocks Ease as Ceasefire Doubts in Middle East Weigh on Investor Confidence
UK Reassesses Cloud Strategy Amid Criticism Over Limited Support Measures
UK Calls for Full and Toll-Free Access Through Strait of Hormuz Amid Rising Tensions
Starmer Signals Strategic Shift for Britain Amid Escalating Iran-Linked Tensions
UK Issues Firm Warning to Russia Over Covert Underwater Military Activity
×