How Peter Thiel’s Talk Club Secretly Ranks Its Members

Dialogue, private The network he co-founded Peter Thielgrades Those attending its activities on an invisible scale, ranking them by wealth and fame, tracking their relationships, and using algorithms to help determine who they should meet, who they should sit down with, and who no longer belongs, WIRED has learned.

The records are part of a trove of internal data that WIRED received from a confidential source, and contain personal information for nearly 200 prominent people scheduled to attend the group’s annual retreat this summer. The data includes home addresses, private phone numbers, email accounts, dates of birth, photos, and emergency contacts, as well as food allergies and political leanings some members have volunteered.

The records differ from the list of people affiliated with Dialog that was left exposed on the organization’s website and circulated online since earlier this week — a looser guide that appears to include non-members, such as Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a former speaker at the event, and other outside guests who have passed through Dialog’s orbit, in some cases for years.

Founded in 2006 by Thiel and data broker Oren Hoffman, the Dialog Club is a private club that brings together politicians, investors, businessmen, military leaders, CEOs, academics and journalists for informal, invitation-only meetings. According to a dialogue document shared by a former participant, it has “over 1,000 paid members,” and over 2,500 people have attended its annual retreats.

The document, which describes Dialogue as an “invitation-only community,” distinguishes between two products: membership and retreats. The former allows members — the group calls them “interviewers” ​​— access to private dinners “hosted in members’ homes and private spaces around the world,” as well as “member-led global trips,” concierge services, private group chats, and more. Retreats bring together groups of 200 or more people—not necessarily members—for three- to four-day meetings. This August, for example, members, speakers, and guests are scheduled to gather outside Dublin, Ireland, for two days of discussions on artificial intelligence, geopolitics, and modern warfare — from the future of NATO and battlefield technology to the war in Iran — led by current and former lawmakers, diplomats, and national security officials.

(Disclosure: Former WIRED editor-in-chief Nick Thompson — currently CEO of The Atlantic — is among the people listed on both the public list and unpublished records. He declined to say whether he is a member of Dialog.)

The dialog assigns scores to people before they join. Of the 192 profiles examined by WIRED, 130 were classified as members. The rest are potential clients with files tagged like “First Time Dialoger” or “Warm.” Everyone – members and potential invitees alike – is given a grade of A, B or C. The ‘C’ seems to be reserved for the most famous and influential people; Only one in seven got it. Most people – 141 out of 192 – received a B grade. The last class, A, appears to be intended primarily for older, established members who are considered less popular by the class.

Actor Josh Brolin — who, according to records, has never attended the Dialog Resort — has been designated a person of interest based largely on the strength of his fame: “His portrayal of Thanos in the Avengers franchise and his involvement in high-grossing films like Avengers: Endgame, which has grossed more than $2.79 billion, have contributed to his fame,” one note said, with staff also noting his Instagram following of more than 3.4 million.

In contrast, economist Tyler Cowen was initially denied a “C” VIP rating after the group’s AI tool described him as “widely recognized in his field” but not the leader of “an organization that is a household name to the average person.” (The dialogue team overruled the artificial intelligence tool, which was used to compile files on at least 26 people on the group’s list.)

Brolin did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment. One of his representatives said Hollywood Reporter He wants to “know what he’s gotten himself into.” Quinn did not respond to a request for comment.