An 81-year-old man who was forced out of his home in the forest after living in his man-made cabin off the grid for 27 years, has received a check for $180,000 to build a new home.
David Lidstone, known as ‘River Dave’ was arrested and jailed on July 15 for refusing to leave his cabin that sits in the woods of New Hampshire, after being accused of squatting.
While in jail the cabin he built along the Merrimack River burned down leaving him in an even more desperate situation.
As his story spread across the nation he received an outpouring of support and offers to help including a new area of land he could build a cabin on – a nearby property owned by the congregation of the Concord Friends Meeting.
Now Dave will be able to build a new home thanks to Palantir Technologies CEO and billionaire Alexander Karp, who gave him a personal check for $180,000 last week.
Jodie Gedeon, a kayaker friend of Lidstone, announced the donation in a Facebook post saying: “Mr. Karp, we are thankful for you and your generosity, your mind set to address the most important challenges in business and in humanity 
Thank you for your support and being a leader in change 
.”
Dave has spent the last 27 years growing his own food, cutting his own firewood, and looking after his chickens and pets.
The U.S. Air Force Veteran’s cabin, which is powered by solar panels, is hidden by trees and sits on 73 acres of land that’s been used for timber harvests.
“How can I express myself and my gratitude towards something like that? I start to tear up whenever I think about it,” Lidstone said, as per the Concord 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.”
His friend Jodie said they have a temporary house set-up for the winter for Dave and will be building a new home for him in the spring.
Karp is the co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies Inc., founded in 2003. The company builds software that is used by governments and businesses around the world. Forbes puts Karp’s net worth at $2.2 billion.
“I truly believe it’s in Mr. Karp’s nature to do this,” Jodie said. “He is a sincere person cares about others. He has humanity; he does the right thing.”
I’m so thankful that so many people sympathize and want to help this man who has done nothing but live his life in peace surrounded by nature.
I look forward to seeing Dave get back to nature and live the remainder of his years off the grid as he chooses to do. Please share.
