Business mogul is giving away free 115-acre college campus, but with major catch for new owner

Raj Bhakta on the campus of the defunct Green Mountain College.

Entrepreneur and businessman Raj Bhakta is giving away the campus of the former Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermont, which closed in 2019. Bhakta bought the campus the following year for about $5 million, but is now looking to give the entire property to a new owner for free -- on the condition that any new owner adheres to a goal involving "the revival of the United States, Western civilization and Christendom through faith-based education."

Bhakta, the founder of WhistlePig Whiskey and a contestant on the second season of The Apprentice, had plans to convert the campus into a complex that would include a hotel, condos, a restaurant and spa as well as a micro-distillery, according to The Wall Street Journal. Development of the property has gone no where, apart from an elementary school launched by his wife, due to what Bhakta describes as "Vermont’s red tape antidevelopment regime."

All told, the 115-acre countryside campus, which Bhakta has billed as "The Gift," includes 16 buildings, some of which have been there since its founding in 1834.

Bhakta has been fielding applications since he publicized his desire to give the campus away in February. The unusual deal Bhakta is offering comes out of a concern about the direction U.S. higher education has taken in recent decades. 

Raj Bhakta amassed his wealth as the founder of several successful spirits brands.

He told The Wall Street Journal that too many graduates leave colleges in the U.S. "brainwashed with communist and wokeist ideology," adding that the problem is not just with the curriculum but also the culture on American college campuses. “When people are alone, high on gummies and shrooms in front of their computer, they feel desperate,” Bhakta told the Journal. “This could be solved in part by going to the local pub and having a beer.”

Bhakta estimates the property is worth $20 million and said he has whittled the dozens of applications he received down to 10 finalists. "This gift is about stewardship," Bhakta has said. "The Green Mountain College campus is a magnificent resource, and I am seeking a Catholic organization with the vision and capability to use it for good — to serve people, purpose, and faith."

Watch the video below for a few more details on Bhakta's giveaway.