African-American tech billionaire Alex Karp’s net worth nears $2 billion amid Palantir stock surge

Alexander Caedmon Karp “Alex Karp,” the African-American tech billionaire and co-founder of Palantir Technologies, has witnessed a remarkable surge in his net worth, nearing the $2-billion mark.

According to Forbes’ Real-Time Global Billionaires Ranking, Karp’s fortune has increased by half a billion dollars since the beginning of the year, increasing by $500 million from $1.3 billion on Jan. 1 to $1.8 billion as of the drafting of this report, propelled by the astounding performance of Palantir Technologies’ shares.

Since the start of the year, Palantir’s stock on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange has soared by over 140 percent, reaching $15.34 at the close of trading last week, Fri., July 7.

The surge has pushed Palantir’s market capitalization above $30 billion.

The substantial increase in Palantir’s shares has solidified Karp’s position as one of the world’s wealthiest black individuals. His 2.63-percent stake in the company is now valued at over $850 million.

The recent surge in Palantir’s shares can be attributed to investors’ renewed interest sparked by the company’s strong first-quarter earnings, which exceeded analysts’ expectations.

Palantir reported an 18-percent increase in revenue for the quarter, reaching $525 million compared to $446 million the previous year. Its U.S. commercial revenue witnessed a notable growth of 26 percent, and the company’s customer count in the U.S. commercial sector increased by 50 percent, from 103 customers to 155.

Palantir’s positive outlook continues, with expectations of reporting revenue between $528 million and $532 million for the second quarter and between $2.19 billion and $2.24 billion for the full year.

Karp, the company’s CEO, expressed confidence in the demand for Palantir’s new artificial intelligence platform, describing it as “without precedent.”

The platform enables commercial and government sectors to utilize large language models based on their own private data sets and will be made available to select customers, paving the way for increased revenue and earnings growth.

With Palantir’s shares on the rise and the company’s strong performance, Alex Karp’s net worth is on a trajectory toward the $2-billion milestone, cementing his status as a prominent figure among the world’s wealthiest Black individuals.