David Lidstone, a New Hampshire hermit known to locals as “River Dave,” takes off his hat after speaking to the media in Merrimack County High Court after a state conference hearing, on Wednesday, August 11, 2021 in Concord, NH
Elise Amendola | AP
Palantir CEO Alexander Karp has donated $ 180,000 to a New Hampshire hermit who has attracted media attention in recent weeks after his cabin burned down.
The money was a personal donation from Karp, a spokesman told CNBC. Karp received compensation worth about $ 1.1 billion in 2020.
David Lidstone, 81, known as “River Dave,” was jailed on July 15 for allegedly occupying a property for nearly 30 years. His cabin burned to the ground on August 4, according to the AP.
“How can I express myself and my gratitude for something like that? I start to break down every time I think about it,” Lidstone told the Concord Monitor of Karp’s donation. “For an old lumberjack who always had to work, for someone to give you that kind of money, it’s incredibly hard for me to get my head around it.”
Lidstone told the AP that the former owner had given him permission to live on the land. The current owner, who learned of Lidstone from a city administrator in 2015, wanted him out, the AP reported. The judge finally granted Lidstone release from prison.
Prior to the donation, Lidstone would have received at least 20 transfer offers to California, the AP said.