Whiskey mogul wants to give away a $200M college campus to 1 specific recipient — a Christian

A whiskey mogul is ready to hand over the keys to a sprawling New England college campus, but only if the next owner shares his mission to reshape America.

Raj Peter Bhakta, the founder of WhistlePig Whiskey and a former “Apprentice” contestant, is offering up the defunct Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont, for free. 

The 115-acre property — packed with dorms, classrooms, athletic facilities and more than 100 acres of farmland — could be worth a fortune. 

The catch is he only wants a Christian/Catholic institution willing to take on what he sees as a much bigger fight.

“We wish to bequeath this unique — beautiful and intact — New England college campus to the right beneficiary,” Bhakta wrote in a pitch for the property. 

That “right” partner, he said, must be aligned with something far beyond real estate. 

“The right beneficiary has a vision aligned with the revival of the United States and Western Civilization.”

And in Bhakta’s view, that revival starts with religion. 

“They would also recognize this must first begin with the spiritual revival of our Christian faith. It will be upon coherence with this mission that candidates will be judged.” 

The offer may sound generous, but it comes with a massive price tag. 

Bhakta estimates it could take up to $200 million to fully restore the campus — on top of roughly $1 million in yearly operating costs and another $1.5 million needed for ongoing upkeep.

Bhakta scooped up the property at auction in 2020 for $4.5 million, which was a steep discount from its prior asking price, after the school shut down amid declining enrollment. 

At one point, he floated an ambitious redevelopment plan that included dramatic upgrades like a helipad, but later scrapped the proposal and battled the town over taxes before shifting gears entirely.

Now, after years of back-and-forth with local officials and a decision to move his spirits business out of state, Bhakta is looking to offload the campus — either to a like-minded religious group or to the open market.

He insists the stakes go far beyond one Vermont property, framing the giveaway as part of a larger national moment.

“We’ve had two great awakenings in this country before, and I think we’re at the dawn, God willing, of a third great awakening,” Bhakta said.

“And that will hopefully, by God’s grace, lead to the revival of this great country and this great civilization.”

“That, incidentally, is worth fighting for.”