Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir Technologies, purchased 15,000 hectares (37,000 acres) of forest in Härjedalen, Sweden, for 235 million kronor ($22 million). For comparison, Liechtenstein covers an area of about 16,000 hectares.
The purchase from paper company SCA AB became public when local hunters received cancellation of their lease to hunt on the property, according to Tidningen Härjedalen. Local authorities were given no advance information about the transaction.
Karp made the purchase through his newly registered company Cladonia Skog AB. The chairman of Cladonia told the Swedish newspaper that the land provides valuable habitat for wildlife and space for recreation.
Swedish defense and police use services from Palatir, as does NATO. The purchase comes at a time when European leaders are considering reducing their reliance on U.S. technology.