Joe LonsdaleJoe Lonsdale (born September 12, 1982) is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist best known as a co-founder of Palantir Technologies in 2003, a data analytics firm pivotal in defense, intelligence, and COVID-19 response efforts worldwide. A Stanford computer science graduate (2004) and former editor of the libertarian Stanford Review, he started at PayPal as an intern and rose as an early executive at Peter Thiel's Clarium Capital hedge fund. Lonsdale co-founded Addepar (wealth management tech) and OpenGov (government software, acquired 2024), and founded 8VC in 2015, a VC firm managing $6B+ with early investments in Anduril, Oculus, Guardant Health, Joby Aviation, and Flexport. A conservative advocate, he co-founded the Cicero Institute (2018) for policy reform in housing and criminal justice, and serves as founding chairman of the University of Austin. Married to Tayler Cox since 2016 with five children, he resides in Austin, TX; his net worth is estimated at $3.5B as of 2025.
Patek Philippe Perpetual CalendarThe Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar (most iconic refs. 3940, 5140, 5327, 5236, and the ultra-modern 5236P) is widely considered the gold standard of mechanical perpetual calendar wristwatches.Key features:
- Automatically accounts for 12 months, leap years, and 31/30/28(29)-day months — accurate until the year 2100 (no Gregorian correction needed).
- Classic layout: day and date subdials at 9 and 3, month (sometimes with leap-year indicator) at 12, and moonphase at 6 o’clock.
- Ultra-thin in-house movements (e.g., Cal. 240 Q with 22k micro-rotor) — typically under 4 mm thick despite the complexity.
- Available in precious metals only (white gold, rose gold, yellow gold, platinum) with 36–41 mm cases.
- Current flagship: Ref. 5236P-001 (platinum, inline day-date-month display, charcoal gray dial) retails for ~$135,000; discontinued refs like 3940J or 5140P often trade for $70,000–$150,000 on the secondary market.
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