Tech billionaire gives ‘River Dave’ $180K to build new home

CANTERBURY, N.H. — “River Dave” is going to have a new home after all.

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David Lidstone, who was jailed last month after refusing to leave the New Hampshire property where he was a squatter for 27 years, received a check for $180,000 from billionaire Alexander Karp, the Concord Monitor reported.

On Aug. 4, the cabin Lidstone -- an 81-year-old former hermit known as River Dave -- called home along the banks of the Merrimack River in Canterbury burned to the ground, according to The Associated Press.

Karp, the CEO of Palantir Technologies, a data-mining company, wrote a personal check to Lidstone, according to the Monitor. Karp lives in Grafton County in New Hampshire.

Jodie Gedeon, a friend of Lidstone, announced the donation on a Facebook group for River Dave’s supporters, the newspaper reported. Steven Harris, of McLane Middleton, met Lidstone and delivered the check on Karp’s behalf on Aug. 11, the Union Leader reported.

“He (Dave) is overwhelmed by the generosity of this man,” Gedeon told the newspaper. “This money, plus donations through GoFundMe, means Dave will have a place to live. I start to tear up just thinking about it.”

>> ‘River Dave’ loses cabin to fire

Lisa Gordon, a Palantir spokesperson, confirmed the donation but declined to comment further, the Monitor reported. Karp lives in New Hampshire’s Grafton County.

Lidstone said he was overwhelmed by Karp’s gesture.

“How can I express myself and my gratitude towards something like that? I start to tear up whenever I think about it,” Lidstone told the Monitor. “For an old logger who always had to work, for anyone to give you that type of money, it’s incredibly difficult for me to get my head around.”

The money will go toward rebuilding in another location, Gedeon told the Union Leader. “Right now we set up a trust for Dave and it’s going to be utilized to build him a new home. We have this temporary house set up for the winter but we’re not going to be able to build until spring.”

Gedeon said the location of Lidstone’s new home will remain a secret for now, the newspaper reported.

Lidstone was jailed on July 15 by a Merrimack County Superior Court judge after the former hermit refused to leave his cabin, the Union Leader reported.

Superior Court Judge Andrew Schulman released Lidstone three weeks later after his cabin burned to the ground, the newspaper reported. Officials have called the fire accidental.

>> ‘River Dave’ vows to stay in jail instead of giving up his cabin on someone else’s property

Lidstone insisted he had rights to the land where he lived for nearly three decades, citing an oral promise from a former owner, the Monitor reported. He added that his land was not on property owned by Vermont resident Leonard Giles.

Lidstone said he plans to have the land surveyed, and if it is determined the land does not belong to Giles, he will sign over any rights to the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, the Union Leader reported.

Karp co-founded Palantir Technologies in 2003, according to the Monitor. According to Forbes, Karp’s net worth is estimated at $2.2 billion.

“I truly believe it’s in Mr. Karp’s nature to do this (for River Dave),” Gedeon told the Monitor. “He is a sincere person who cares about others. He has humanity; he does the right thing.”

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