Dialog, the exclusive forum co-founded by billionaire Peter Thiel and entrepreneur Auren Hoffman, is planning a permanent Washington headquarters as the PayPal co-founder’s investment portfolio gains deeper federal government ties through companies like Palantir.
The invitation-only network is scouting real estate to build a “campus in the D.C. suburbs,” according to reports, marking a strategic expansion into the nation’s political center.
“Dialog, often compared to a tech-era Bilderberg, has quietly become one of the most elite, and mysterious, gatherings for CEOs, elected officials, and intellectual heavyweights,” Axios reports.
The move comes as Thiel’s influence in government circles has grown substantially, driven by lucrative federal contracts secured by his portfolio companies. Palantir, the data analytics firm he co-founded, has become a key supplier to U.S. intelligence and defense agencies.
A source with ties to Dialog told Axios that the permanent facility reflects “rising demand for quieter reflection in an always-on world. Dialog bills itself as offering global elites the chance to talk candidly across ideological lines, away from their phones and the pressures of social media, the news media, and their stakeholders.”
The forum’s secretive nature appears to be a selling point. “Given declining trust in institutions and anti-establishment fervor,” the source added, “the group actively keeps its inner workings secretive and hidden from public scrutiny.” The network’s “secretive nature allows participants to share controversial and concerning ideas that they would not be comfortable sharing elsewhere.”
Dialog has hosted events in the U.S. and Italy and is planning satellite gatherings in the Middle East and other locations, signaling global ambitions beyond its Washington expansion.
The forum attracts a bipartisan roster of power players, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya, KKR & Co. co-founder Henry Kravis, and Maryland Governor Wes Moore. Other participants include Senator Cory Booker, former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
As the late, great comedian George Carlin once famously said: It’s a big club and you ain’t in it.
* * *
