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lex Karp, co‑founder and CEO of Denver‑based Palantir Technologies, has bought St. Benedict’s Monastery in Colorado’s Capitol Creek Valley for $120 million, per The Wall Street Journal and Aspen Times. The sale, recorded in Pitkin County on Monday, transferred the 3,700‑acre ranch and monastery complex to Espen LLC, a Delaware‑registered entity linked to Karp. The property, once listed by Mirr Ranch Group at $150 million, had attracted few buyers and a prior offer collapsed.
The purchase includes water rights for irrigating 1,500 acres, the monastery’s 10‑room compound—comprising a monk’s residence, chapel, dining hall, library, meeting rooms, retreat center, guest cabins, and agricultural buildings—and surrounding meadows, forests and creeks. Karp, known for his rigorous cross‑country ski training, intends to keep the land as a cattle ranch and wildlife preserve, pledging sustainable agricultural practices and cooperation with former users, as Mirr Ranch Group stated in a release that did not name the buyer.
Palantir, which relocated from Silicon Valley to Colorado in 2022, is a leading AI software provider. Its shares have surged 2,500 % over three years, and the company is valued at $436 billion, surpassing all other Colorado public companies combined. Karp, a major shareholder, is among the world’s wealthiest, with a net worth of $16–$18 billion. He owns 20 properties worldwide, many near ski resorts, and his primary residence is a 500‑acre estate in New Hampshire bought for $825,000 in 2019.
The monastery, founded by Trappist monks from Massachusetts in the mid‑1950s, had been a center for prayer, work, and retreats. Father Thomas Keating, a pioneer of centering prayer, was a notable resident. The community relied on beef sales and “Monastery Cookies” for income, but aging monks and dwindling numbers forced the Trappist Order to close the site in 2023 and put it on the market. A final public mass will be held on Jan. 11 to bid farewell.
While Palantir’s technology has faced criticism for its use in government surveillance, immigration enforcement, predictive policing and military operations, Karp defends the company as a partner of democratically elected governments, emphasizing accountability controls and the need for Western technological superiority.
The monks at St. Benedict’s have recently installed a 202‑kW solar photovoltaic system, funded by a CORE grant, reflecting their commitment to sustainability.
In comparison, Steve Wynn and financier Thomas Peterffy sold a 2.45‑acre Aspen home at 419 Willoughby Way for $108 million in April 2024, the state’s most expensive residential sale. Karp’s acquisition, however, offers a vast expanse of land and a historic retreat center, positioning him as Colorado’s wealthiest resident if he chooses to reside there.
