Palantir CEO Alex Karp criticized Ivy League graduates for backing New York City’s newly elected Mayor Zohran Mamdani, questioning the value of elite education compared to practical skills.
According to FOX Business, while speaking on The Axios Show, Karp said, “I think the average Ivy League grad voting for this mayor is highly annoyed that their education is not that valuable.”
He added, “And the person down the street who knows how to drill for oil and gas, who’s moved to Texas, has a more valuable profession. And I think that annoys the f— out of these people.”
Karp’s remarks followed Mamdani’s swearing-in as New York’s first socialist mayor in nearly a century, a victory propelled by a grassroots student movement.
Since co-founding Palantir in 2003, Karp has become known as one of Silicon Valley’s most outspoken executives, leading the data analytics firm in extensive partnerships with U.S. government and defense agencies while maintaining a public voice on governance and technology ethics.
