Palantir CEO Alex Karp purchased 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of forest in Härjedalen, Sweden, for 235 million kronor (about $22 million). The plot, bought from paper company SCA AB through a newly registered firm called Cladonia Skog AB, is roughly comparable in size to Liechtenstein. The transaction became public when local hunters received notice that their hunting leases had been canceled; local authorities say they received no advance information about the sale. Cladonia’s chairman described the land as valuable wildlife habitat and suitable for recreation.
The purchase has drawn attention because Palantir provides services to Swedish defense and police forces as well as NATO, and the timing coincides with European debates about reducing dependence on U.S. technology. The combination of a high-profile U.S. tech executive acquiring a large, strategically located tract without prior notification, the disruption of local hunting arrangements, and the company’s defense ties has sparked scrutiny and discussion about transparency, land ownership, and security implications in Sweden.
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