Palantir CEO Buys Former Aspen-Area Monastery for Record $120 Million
Alex Karp’s purchase of the 3,700-acre Snowmass estate marks the highest-priced residential sale in Pitkin County history, highlighting the surge of ultra-luxury deals in the region. It has been confirmed that Karp plans to use the former monastery as a private residence.
ASPEN, CO — A former monastery nestled in the mountains outside Aspen has set a new pricing benchmark, selling for approximately $120 million to Palantir Technologies co-founder and CEO Alex Karp. The transaction is the most expensive residential sale ever recorded in Pitkin County, Colorado, underscoring the rapid escalation of nine-figure deals in the Aspen–Snowmass luxury market.
According to reporting from the Wall Street Journal and New York Post, the roughly 3,700-acre property, known as St. Benedict’s Monastery, lies about 30 minutes from Aspen and was owned for nearly 70 years by an order of Trappist monks. Listed last year for $150 million, the estate was marketed by Ken Mirr of Mirr Ranch Group alongside Haley Mirr and Michael Latousek. Mirr confirmed the buyer intends to use the property as a private residence.
The main monastery structure, built in the 1950s and inspired by a 12th-century Cistercian abbey, spans about 24,000 square feet, with an additional retreat center added in the 1990s. The largely undeveloped land includes historic cabins and barns and borders national forest, with several creeks running through it.
Mirr emphasized that the sale differed from typical Aspen luxury transactions.
“This isn’t your typical sale of a property in Aspen with a 20,000-square-foot home on it,” he said, noting that strict land-use restrictions shifted the focus toward buyers who appreciated the property’s history and scale. “We were looking for someone who prized it for what it is.”
Interest was driven by the rarity of such a large, intact parcel so close to Aspen and Snowmass.
“It’s extraordinary to find 3,700 acres in that area that has been relatively untouched,” Mirr said.
Karp, an avid skier, joins a growing cohort of ultra-wealthy buyers reshaping the local market — but this time, instead of a home, the purchase is of a monastery.
Previously, UOJ reported that an Orthodox monastery is seeking $350,000 for storm damage repairs.
