I got pulled into this topic because the secrecy around the Grove is ridiculously intriguing, and the first thing I learned was that names you see online fall into two camps: historical, well-documented members from
the club’s early days, and more modern political or corporate figures reported in press pieces or leaked guest lists. In the older, verifiable category you’ll find literary and media types who were connected to the San Francisco Bohemian Club roots—people like Mark Twain and Jack London were associated with the Bohemian crowd, and William Randolph Hearst is another frequent historical name tied to club life. Those figures show how the Grove grew out of a cultural, creative circle rather than a purely political
Cabal.
Moving into 20th-century politics and business, the Grove has long attracted prominent public servants and captains of industry. Herbert Hoover is a well-documented member who attended Grove functions; later on, presidents and high-ranking officials were reported as guests or participants—Richard Nixon is one of the more commonly cited presidential visitors, and many reports over decades mention other senior statesmen and foreign-policy heavyweights showing up. Also, big-name financiers and corporate titans—
David Rockefeller and similar elder figures—have been linked to Grove gatherings in journalistic accounts and memoirs. The centerpiece ritual, the 'Cremation of Care', is theatrical and symbolic, and most attendees I’ve read about treat it as pageantry rather than something occult.
I try to keep a skeptical eye: because the club is private, no exhaustive public roster exists and a lot of lists are compiled from leaked invites, press photos, memoirs, and investigative journalism. That means some names get repeated in rumor more than in proof, and conspiracy theories balloon around any private ritual. Still, the consistent pattern is clear: over the decades the Grove has drawn writers, media magnates, bankers, and a surprising number of political heavyweights. It’s a weird, fascinating slice of social history that makes for great late-night rabbit holes—count me as hooked every time I dig deeper.