# Stephen Cohen The youngest and quietest of [[Palantir]]'s five co-founders. Currently President, Secretary, and Director of Palantir — one of three people who structurally control the company through the Founder Voting Trust. ## Background - B.S. in Computer Science from Stanford University (2005). - While still an undergrad, worked at [[Peter Thiel]]'s hedge fund Clarium Capital. - Editor-in-chief of *The Stanford Review*, the conservative/libertarian student newspaper Thiel co-founded in 1987 — a direct ideological pipeline between the two. - Built Palantir's initial software prototype in eight weeks while still in college. - Co-founded Palantir in 2003 at age ~19 alongside Thiel, [[Alex Karp]], [[Joe Lonsdale]], and [[Nathan Gettings]]. ## Structural Power Cohen's significance isn't public — it's governance. He holds 27.6% of Palantir's Class B shares and participates in the **Founder Voting Trust** with Thiel and Karp. This three-person trust maintains durable control over Palantir regardless of public share dilution. Every government contract, every DOGE collaboration, every intelligence deal flows through a governance structure Cohen helps maintain. ## Stock Activity As of early 2026, Cohen has made 36 SEC-filed transactions in PLTR over 5 years — all sells, zero buys. Most recent: sale of 327,088 shares on February 20, 2026. Net worth estimated at $742M+ (fluctuates with PLTR stock price and ongoing sales). ## Political Profile Conspicuously absent from the political arena compared to fellow founders. No significant public political donations on record. No media appearances, no political appointments, no advisory roles. This contrasts sharply with Thiel (political kingmaker), Karp (public philosopher), Lonsdale (GOP donor/policy), and Sacks (AI/Crypto Czar). Cohen's power is exercised through Palantir's governance, not through the political system directly — making him arguably the most underexamined of the five founders. ## Stanford Review Connection The Stanford Review link matters: Thiel co-founded the paper in 1987 as a conservative counterweight on campus. Cohen later edited it. This ideological pipeline — Thiel → Stanford Review → Palantir — represents one of the quieter but most durable recruitment channels in the network. ## See Also - [[Peter Thiel]] - [[Palantir]] - [[Nathan Gettings]] - [[PayPal Mafia to Pentagon Pipeline]]