Key facts
- A leaked list from the secretive Peter Thiel-founded Dialog retreats has been exposed.
- The list includes top politicians from both US parties, foreign officials, tech leaders, and media figures.
- Participants contacted had mixed reactions, with some defending the organization and others distancing themselves.
- The gatherings are compared to elite conferences like the Bilderberg Group and Bohemian Grove.
- Dialog's co-founder Auren Hoffman had previously invited Jeffrey Epstein to a 2014 conference.
A leaked list from the secretive, invitation-only Dialog retreats, founded by tech investor Peter Thiel, has revealed a diverse group of influential attendees, including top politicians from across the U.S. political spectrum, foreign officials, and prominent figures from the tech and media industries.
The annual events, which began in 2006 and have been compared to the Bilderberg Group and Bohemian Grove, are known for organized discussions on global affairs, often held at luxury venues worldwide. The leaked list, discovered in the website's source code and archived on June 15, indicates an organization capable of convening significant government, corporate, and cultural power.
Among those named are serving Trump administration officials such as White House staff secretary Will Scharf and National Science Foundation nominee Jim O’Neill, alongside Republican Senator Ted Cruz and Democratic Senators Cory Booker and Governor Wes Moore. Tech titans like Elon Musk and OpenAI president Greg Brockman are also on the list, as are writers such as Sam Harris and Steven Pinker. International attendees include Saudi royal Turki al-Faisal and former Keir Starmer adviser Matt Clifford.
Responses from individuals on the list varied. Some defended Dialog's mission of promoting non-ideological conversation, while others sought to distance themselves, citing fleeting or past involvement. For instance, a spokesperson for Governor Jared Polis stated he was not a member and did not recall attending, while Governor Wes Moore noted his single appearance 13 years prior to speak about his book.
Janine Wedel, an author specializing in elite networks, commented that such gatherings where financial, tech, and political power converge are where agendas are set and opinions shaped, posing a potential problem for democracy. Further scrutiny of Dialog emerged with the revelation that co-founder Auren Hoffman had invited the late financier Jeffrey Epstein to a 2014 conference, though it is unknown if Epstein attended.