D.C.'s private clubs surge with demand — and big names
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Inside Ned's Club in downtown D.C. Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Washington's private club landscape — both the old guard and the new guard — is booming, per a new New York Times article.
Why it matters: Four prominent D.C. clubs — newcomers the Executive Branch and Ned's Club and the old-school Metropolitan Club and Cosmos Club — all are expanding, have waitlists, or a combo of the two, the newspaper reports.
- This comes during an increasingly partisan moment in Washington, when many people are looking for familiar retreats.
State of play: Executive Branch, a Trump-centric private club opening in Georgetown next month, will run you as much as $500,000 to be a member. It'll be in the underground space once home to Clubhouse and Church Hall, with design nods to the Aman New York.
- And don't expect to find typical Beltway figures there, White House crypto czar David Sacks tells the Times — think "a fake news reporter" or "a lobbyist," aka people "we don't know and we don't trust."
- "You have to know the owners," one club spokesperson told the Times while on a private plane returning from overseas. "This is not just for any Saudi businessman."
- Donald Trump Jr. is a lead investor, and founding members include Sacks and crypto twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. President Trump, meanwhile, is expected to make appearances now that the former Trump Hotel is no longer available as a hangout.
Meanwhile, at Ned's Club, which opened downtown in January, members include Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, MSNBC's Symone Sanders Townsend, CNN's Kaitlan Collins and Phil Rucker, and the Wall Street Journal's Josh Dawsey.
- Also spotted on the Ned circuit: Mark Cuban and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.
Fees at the club start at $5,000 to join, with annual dues of $5,000. It's $1,000 for federal workers.
- Joining the Founders Club will cost you $125,000 — but it will grant you access to a private dining room.
What we're watching: While they're still in demand, old-guard clubs like the Metropolitan and Cosmos are looking to welcome younger members.