Leaked 2,200‑Name Bohemian Grove List Rekindles Scrutiny of Private Redwood Camp
An independent journalist published the full 2023 camp membership list for the bohemian grove, disclosing roughly 2, 200 names that include public figures and business leaders. The release has revived attention on the enclave’s secrecy, prompted a statement from the club and renewed interest in the site’s historical intersections with national policy.
Bohemian Grove membership list
The document released is identified as the Bohemian Grove camp member list for 2023 and contains about 2, 200 entries. The published roster names a mix of widely recognized figures and private individuals: prominent mentions include Jimmy Buffett, Ken Burns, Jim Belushi, Henry Kissinger, Michael and Charles Koch, alongside others tied to politics and business.
The disclosure highlights a distinction the club has long maintained: the camp list does not necessarily represent the club’s full membership, which also meets at a separate San Francisco building. Bohemian Club spokesperson Sam Singer reiterated that the club is private and does not disclose its list of members or guests.
Daniel Boguslaw's pursuit and publication
Independent journalist Daniel Boguslaw obtained the list and published it on a Substack newsletter. Boguslaw described an extended pursuit of a local club member, saying he traveled from Massachusetts with an earlier 2017 attendance list in hand, stayed in Central Bay Area lodging and persistently sought access until he received two manila envelopes containing the 2023 camp list.
Boguslaw said one outlet that had considered the story declined to run it, and he proceeded to publish the roster himself. He has characterized the list as genuine and expressed confidence in his reporting. The public release of names immediately generated renewed scrutiny of the Grove’s membership and practices, illustrating how a single disclosure can shift privacy dynamics for a private association of influential figures.
40-foot owl, rituals and a 1942 meeting that mattered
The Bohemian Club owns a 2, 700‑acre private campground where July encampments have long been a feature, drawing private jets to Sonoma County and imposing tight security around the compound. A conspicuous ritual at the site is the Cremation of Care, performed before a large owl statue—described as roughly 40 feet tall—during which an effigy called “Care” is burned as part of the ceremony.
Beyond pageantry, the grove has a recorded imprint on history: a 1942 meeting at the camp is cited as having helped lay groundwork for the Manhattan Project. That linkage illustrates cause and effect in microcosm—the club’s secluded gatherings have, in at least one documented instance, contributed to coordination that led to significant national policy and scientific outcomes.
What makes this notable is how the same practices that produce theatrical rites and social bonding—private meetings in dense secrecy—also create opportunities for real-world planning among people with institutional influence. The leaked list therefore matters not only for the identities it reveals but for how it illuminates the channels through which networks meet and exchange ideas.
For now, the immediate effects are concrete: a widely distributed roster tied to the 2023 camp, repeated public naming of several high-profile figures, and a club assertion that membership rolls are private. The leak has reopened debate about privacy, privilege and transparency around secluded gatherings of policymakers and industry leaders.
Observers will watch whether the publication prompts further disclosures, legal challenges, or internal changes at the club. At the least, the release has forced a private year’s roster into public view and reminded audiences that the Grove’s rituals and gatherings have, historically and contemporaneously, intersected with broader political and scientific developments.
