• References

The Trust Project

References This article includes a list of source material, including documents and people, so you can follow the story further.
A computer illustration showing a rising trend line, stock market listings and cash falling from the sky.
(Photo provided by Gigafact.)

Yes.

Alexander Karp, CEO of the Colorado-based data firm Palantir, received about $6.8 billion in “compensation actually paid” in 2024, including salary and changes in stock value

In 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began requiring most publicly traded corporations to report the CAP for executives in addition to their total compensation — the more traditional method, factoring in salary and stock awards. 

Under the classic method of reporting, Karp’s compensation was $4.6 million. His CAP factors in earnings from his current and potential stock holdings, which shot up in value after Palantir’s stock price surged 340% in 2024.

A study from Equilar and the New York Times found Karp is the highest paid CEO in the U.S. by CAP, with only one other executive — Broadcom CEO Hock Tan — topping out $1 billion. Measuring by total compensation, Karp doesn’t even appear in the top 100 highest paid executives in 2024.

See full source list below.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

The Colorado Sun partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

References:

Palantir Technologies Schedule 14A, United States Securities and Exchange Commission, April 25, 2025. Source link

Final rule: Pay Versus Performance, United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Aug. 25, 2022. Source link

Palantir Technologies – 5 year stock price history, Macrotrends, accessed September 2025. Source link

The Rich Compensation for Being the CEO, The New York Times, June 6, 2025. Source link

Equilar 100: CEO pay at the largest companies by revenue, Equilar, June 6, 2025. Source link

Type of Story: Fact-Check

Checks a specific statement or set of statements asserted as fact.

Tyler has spent the last three years reporting on the environment, culture and local government in Colorado. Most recently, he spent time as a staff reporter and photographer for Boulder Weekly, where he covered the rapidly growing city of Longmont...