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Palantir CEO Alex Karp quietly purchased 37,000 acres of forests in Sweden—and locals found out when hunters lost leases to use the property

Sasha Rogelberg
By
Sasha Rogelberg
Sasha Rogelberg
Reporter
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Sasha Rogelberg
By
Sasha Rogelberg
Sasha Rogelberg
Reporter
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 30, 2026, 3:05 AM ET
Alex Karp, wearing a suit, looks forward.
Palantir CEO Alex Karp, through his company Cladonia Skog AB, purchased 37,000 acres of Swedish forest.Matt RAMEY—AFP/Getty Images
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Palantir cofounder and CEO Alex Karp is best known in the U.S. for his controversial $450 billion AI defense company, but in Sweden, he’s ruffled feathers for another reason: snapping up thousands of acres of land that’s disrupted local hunting.

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Karp has purchased 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of forest in Härjedalen, Sweden, through his newly registered company Cladonia Skog AB, of which he is the beneficial owner. The sale was reportedly for 235 million kronor, or $22 million. Swedish newspaper Tidningen Härjedalen first reported the deal.

The outlet spoke to hunters who had received notifications in the mail alerting them they could no longer lease the land to hunt south of the quiet village of Storsjö Kapell, known for its hiking and fishing. Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget (SCA), a paper manufacturer that previously owned the land, confirmed it had sold the property because it was suboptimal for forestry.

“We grant hunting rights through lease agreements with a term of approximately 11 months. This means that the agreements can be reviewed and renewed on an annual basis. As we have now sold the land in question, we can of course no longer grant hunting rights on it, as the land is no longer owned by us,” SCA spokesperson Robert Östholm said in an email to Fortune.

Karp already has ties to Sweden through Palantir, which established a partnership with Swedish defense authorities, Palantir’s Sweden country manager, Anders Fridén, confirmed earlier this year. Palantir expanded its software-development offering in Europe about a decade ago, but the EU’s continued use of the company’s services has raised concerns given Europe’s plans to wean itself off U.S. technology and AI.

Cladonia told Swedish media outlets it would use the land to “carry out forestry and other related activities.” Scandinavian Trust, which brokered the deal, did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment, but has reiterated Cladonia’s intention to preserve the land.

“The new owner of the forest property is committed to the beauty of the land and its preservation,” Jenny Lopes Da Silva, a board member of Cladonia and a sales manager at Scandinavian Trust, said in a statement. “The vast, natural forest landscapes offer valuable habitats for plants and animals, while also serving as a place for recreation and restoration.”

Billionaire land investment

Purchasing natural lands has become a popular trend among the ultrawealthy, with farmland growing into a $4.3 trillion asset class in the U.S. alone, according to Steve Bruere, president of agricultural real estate firm Peoples Company. Land is a finite resource, meaning its demand will increase over time, along with its value, making it a reliable hedge against inflation and market volatility. In the U.S., the cost of land increased 4.3% year over year in 2025, averaging about $4,350 per acre, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.

The rise of carbon credits, a certification that indicates action to offset greenhouse gas emissions that can be traded for emissions allowances, has also incentivized owning agrarian land such as forests.

But landownership has become an elaborate hobby for some billionaires, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is raising Wagyu cattle on his ranch in Kauai, Hawaii, and Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian, who has operated a family farm in Jupiter, Fla., for six years.

“A lot of people started to appreciate the nonfinancial benefits of farmland,” Bruere previously told Fortune. “You can hike it, you can walk on it, you can fish it, you can hunt it, you can grow food on it. That trend really emerged coming out of the COVID era, where people were stuck in their homes and apartments and started looking for alternative investments.”

Karp is no stranger to buying land for his own recreational purposes, which reportedly includes a 3,700-acre monastery compound in Capitol Creek Valley, Colo., which sold for $120 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. The deal also included water rights to irrigate 1,500 acres of land.

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About the Author
Sasha Rogelberg
By Sasha RogelbergReporter
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Sasha Rogelberg is a reporter and former editorial fellow on the news desk at Fortune, covering retail and the intersection of business and popular culture.

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