Whiskey Founder Gifts $200M Vermont Campus for Faith Revival

A Vermont whiskey magnate is offering a $200 million college campus to any faith-based institution willing to champion what he calls a spiritual awakening in America.

Raj Peter Bhakta, founder of Bhakta Spirits, purchased the former Green Mountain College campus in Poultney, Vermont for $4.5 million during the uncertainty of 2020's pandemic lockdowns. The 185-year-old property originally carried a $20 million asking price before the school shuttered in 2019 due to declining enrollment.

Now, instead of launching his own institution, Bhakta is searching for a Catholic or Christian group with the resources and vision to transform the space into a center for what he describes as America's "third great awakening." He estimates rebuilding the campus from scratch would cost $200 million.

The 50-year-old entrepreneur traces his business journey back to an unlikely moment: getting fired by Donald Trump on "The Apprentice" in 2005. After a failed congressional campaign and finding himself broke on a Vermont farm during the 2008 recession, Bhakta identified a gap in the premium American whiskey market and founded WhistlePig.

Following a corporate dispute, he sold his stake in WhistlePig in 2019 and launched his namesake spirits company the following year. That's when he turned his attention to what he saw as a crisis in American higher education.

Why This Inspires

Bhakta's offer represents more than real estate. It's a bet on the power of faith-centered education to address what he sees as eroding values in American culture.

His vision requires finding partners who share his conviction that technical or secular solutions alone won't address the nation's deeper needs. He's firm about his requirements: the new institution must champion a return to Christian roots and Western civilization's foundational principles.

Former Poultney community development director Sarah Pelkey called the property "a beautiful campus" when Bhakta first acquired it. Green Mountain College was one of three private Vermont colleges that closed in 2019, reflecting broader enrollment challenges facing small liberal arts institutions nationwide.

If Bhakta can't find a faith-based group that meets his criteria, he'll sell the property. But he's confident that won't be necessary.

The entrepreneur frames his offer within a larger cultural moment, expressing hope that America stands at the dawn of spiritual renewal that could revitalize the country and its civilization. His message is clear: some things are worth fighting for.