Building a cult, World War III and more… Inside US billionaire Peter Thiel’s invite-only club

Have you ever wondered if the world’s richest and most powerful individuals have a private club of their own? Have you pondered what they do when they meet for gatherings?

It seems that such an elite and exclusive group does exist and that it contains over 200 members who discuss topics such as building a cult, their sex lives, and even navigating World War III.

The WIRED has published a report that reveals never-before-heard details about Dialog, a secret cabal of elites led by billionaire investor Peter Thiel. The website has released a trove of leaked records tied to the invitation-only group, exposing sensitive information about hundreds of members and attendees and the topics they discuss.

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What has the leak revealed about Dialog? Who are the members of this most exclusive club? And what do participants of this group discuss?

What is Dialog?

Dialog is an extremely exclusive club that brings together star investors, entrepreneurs, and influential figures from politics, government, and even entertainment. It was started by billionaire Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal and Palantir, and Auren Hoffman in 2006.

Since its inception, Dialog has had no public-facing website and has avoided media coverage — it has never publicly shared a list of participants. It has often been compared to Bilderberg, the off-the-record gathering of Western political and business elites.

Since being formed two decades ago, Thiel’s Dialog has held at least one retreat a year with one simple rule — nothing said at the retreat can be reproduced or reiterated to any member of the public. In the past, Dialog has held gatherings at the Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain in Arizona and the San Clemente Palace in Venice, Italy, according to an Axios report.

In 2022, statistician Andrew Gelman published one of Dialog’s invitations, describing its format and a registration fee of more than $16,000. In 2024, it was reported that disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein had been invited. It remains unclear whether he attended or not.

Peter Thiel has a long history with US President Donald Trump. Several members of the US president's administration are also part of Thiel's extra secretive club, The Dialog. File image/AFP

Interestingly, leaked materials show that Dialog maintains a vetting process for membership. Applicants are assigned a grade that reflects their influence in their respective industry, qualifications, purpose for joining, and the active member who recommended them, among other things.

Similarly, documents reveal the manual for moderators as well as participants. The participation guide tells members to be concise, offer a dissenting view, and avoid status signaling. “Everyone at Dialog is highly accomplished,” states the guide. “Only share those aspects of your bio that are most relevant to the conversation or to people getting to know you.”

This year, Dialog is expected to host its annual gathering at the Powerscourt Hotel outside Dublin, Ireland, from August 12 to August 16.

Who are the members of Thiel’s Dialog?

As per records uncovered by Swiss hacktivist maia arson crimew, this year’s gathering is expected to see 222 people attend.

As per WIRED, General Alexus Grynkewich, Nato’s supreme allied commander Europe and the head of US European Command, has been attending Dialog gatherings since 2021. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, US Senator Ted Cruz, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, senior intelligence and military officials, ambassadors, and executives from major surveillance, data-brokerage, artificial intelligence, and technology companies are also found in the directory of the club.

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and US Representative Jim Himes, the senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, also feature in the list of Dialog members.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is reportedly a member of Dialog. File image/Reuters

Crimew has also published a separate list of 113 affiliates, which includes names such as Stanford University president Jonathan Levin, US Senator Cory Booker, Elon Musk, as well as some Hollywood names such as One Tree Hill actor Sophia Bush and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

What do Dialog’s members discuss at gatherings?

So, what do these elite members of Dialog talk about when they meet? According to the leaked details published by WIRED, this year’s gathering in Ireland will discuss a wide range of topics with a heavy emphasis on geopolitics and tech.

One session is titled “Bring Back Nuclear.” Another will focus on “Disinformation and Deepfakes.” Participants will hear about “Contrarian AI Takes,” “Three Predictions for Iran,” and “Democracy Under Surveillance.”

Others are more personal. A few examples: “Build-a-Cult,” “Money (Does?) Buy Happiness,” “How’s Your Sex Life,” “It’s Fun to be in Charge,” and “Research-Based Longevity Hacks”.

Dialog functions as more than a networking forum. It also has a private matchmaking service. Representational image/Pixabay

But that’s not all. Dialog also serves as a dating service. According to leaked details, the Thiel-led group matches Dialog members with each other. It is reported that when filling out registration forms, potential members are asked if they are “looking for love”.

Once you join, the matchmaking part of Dialog asks for further personal details, including political leanings and relationship preferences. Dialog promises users that this information will not be shared with other participants or displayed in the dating application.

All of this information is then logged into Airtable, a commercial database.

It remains to be seen if the data leak will change plans for the event. Regardless, crimew told Straight Arrow it’s surprising that the secretive organisation’s information about some of the world’s most powerful people became public. “It’s just wild to me how this once again shows that the people who run the world are so confident in their safety that they don’t really bother with any proper operational security,” she said, “not even for their ‘off the record’ secret conventions where they all network and discuss our collective future.”

With inputs from agencies