Bohemian Grove membership list leaked by independent journalist, names include politicians, business leaders and entertainers
An independent journalist has published a leaked camp membership list for bohemian grove from 2023, naming roughly 2, 200 people and reigniting questions about the secluded Northern California retreat’s secrecy. The release matters now because it attaches dozens of public figures to a site long associated with private gatherings and contested rituals.
How Daniel Boguslaw obtained the 2023 camp list and what he says happened
Daniel Boguslaw, identified in the coverage as an independent journalist, obtained the full 2023 retreat membership list and published it Wednesday on an online newsletter platform. Boguslaw said he acquired the list in 2024 by pestering a San Francisco club member rather than by posing as staff or sneaking into the compound.
He described driving to the Bay Area from Massachusetts after first getting hold of a 2017 attendance list, then staying in a Tenderloin single-room-occupancy hotel while he hounded the local member. Weeks later he found longer-term lodging in West Oakland. Boguslaw said one night while he was drinking at Eli’s Mile High Club a courier appeared with two manila envelopes; inside was the 2023 camp membership list.
A member of the club confirmed to reporters that the document is a real membership list from 2023. Boguslaw said the story had been slated to run in another outlet, but that outlet declined to publish; he said, “They spiked it in this really stupid way, ” and added, “They were so freaked out. ” Boguslaw also said he is not worried about blowback: “I’m confident in my reporting, and I’d like to see them try to fuck with me. ” The other outlet did not respond to a request for comment, as noted in the coverage.
Bohemian Grove names on the roster: celebrities, statesmen and many less-known figures
The published 2023 camp membership list contains around 2, 200 people, many of whom are not well known. Coverage highlights a mix of public figures and wealthy individuals: Paul Pelosi, Jimmy Buffett, Conan O’Brien, Michael, Eric Schmidt, Ken Burns and Jim Belushi are named among members active as recently as 2023. The list also includes Henry Kissinger and Charles Koch.
The original account described that many Bay Area pooh-bahs appear on the list. It also noted that most members are rich people you’ve never heard of, and that the source text ends abruptly with the fragment “politicians you’ve ma, ” which is unclear in the provided context.
Journalistic history of attempting to penetrate the grove’s secrecy
Journalists have long tried to get inside the grove: since the 1980s reporters have attempted entry by posing as waiters, as lost hikers and as guests. A San Francisco–based magazine was the first to succeed in 1981, publishing an inside account that described the club as a place where “men who make decisions that affect us all gather quietly. ”
Other efforts have produced confrontations. The commentator Alex Jones once filmed a ceremony at the grove that helped fuel conspiracy theories for decades. In 2008, reporter Alex Shoumatoff was arrested after posing as a member. In 2018, a reporter named Chris Colin was threatened by Bohemian Grove security after kayaking up to the high water line of the compound’s beach along the Russian River. And in 1991, a magazine reportedly killed a story by San Francisco bureau chief Dirk Mathison, who had hiked into the compound and was recognized by an executive from the outlet’s parent company, which promptly axed the piece.
Club response, membership scope and meeting places
The camp list published by Boguslaw does not necessarily represent full membership in the broader club. The organization meets at a building in San Francisco, and Sam Singer, identified as a Bohemian Club spokesperson, said the club is private and does not disclose its list of members or guests.
The distinction between the camp membership roster and the club’s overall membership was emphasized in the coverage, and the published camp list was presented as a partial window into a larger, private institution.
Podcast episode reexamines myths, origins and possible historical significance
A separate audio episode revisited the grove’s reputation. In Season 2, Episode 4, hosts Rizz and Tim step into Bohemian Grove, described in that program as a secluded Northern California retreat long rumored to host secret meetings of the world’s most powerful men.
The episode frames the site as often dismissed as conspiracy or exaggerated folklore but argues it is more complicated and historically significant than many assume. It examines the grove’s origins as a private club for influential figures, its strict culture of secrecy, ritual and symbolism, who actually attends, what happens behind the gates, and why the place has fascinated critics and skeptics for decades. The program separates documented history from speculation and explores how power, privacy and myth intersect, suggesting that one of the most consequential moments of the 20th century may have quietly taken shape far from public view.
