Redwood Creek flows through the 500-year-old California Redwoods in Cathedral and Bohemian groves in Muir Woods National Monument. The secretive club is in a section of Muir Woods.
Manny Crisostomo
Sacramento Bee file
Who belongs to the Bohemian Grove society, an elite, secretive men’s club in Sonoma County?
A recently released list of members includes some immediately recognizable names: former late night host Conan O’Brien, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband Paul Pelosi and documentarian Ken Burns.
Some notable Northern California and Central Valley residents are also mentioned.
Daniel Boguslaw obtained the membership roll for 2023 and published it Wednesday, Feb. 27, on Substack.
It allegedly names a total of 2,202 former and current members of the men-only Bohemian Grove society.
Bohemian Club spokesperson Sam Singer told the San Francisco Standard that the club is private and does not disclose the identities of its members or guests.
Here’s what to know:
What is Bohemian Grove society in Sonoma County?
The Bohemian Grove is a 2,700-acre forest retreat in Sonoma County. The men-only club was founded in 1872, according to the National Parks Service.
According to the book “Brotherhood of the Bomb,” the retreat hosted an early meeting to plan the Manhattan Project to produce the first nuclear weapons with Ernest Lawrence and J. Robert Oppenheimer.
The Bohemian Grove is also the source of many conspiracy theories due to its secrecy and exclusive clientele, which reportedly includes many wealthy, powerful men.
In 2006, OC Weekly called the society’s two-week summer retreat “a playground for elite cabal plotting New World Order global domination.”
The membership list released by Boguslaw includes former U.S. presidents and senior executives of media, technology and financial institutions.
Who is on membership list for men’s club?
According to the list published by Boguslaw, state Sen. Roger Niello, R-Fair Oaks, belongs to the Bohemian Grove’s membership.
Niello was elected to the California Assembly in 2004, serving in that seat for six years, according to the California Senate Republican Caucus. He was elected to the state Senate in 2022 to represent Placer and Sacramento counties.
His brother, David Niello, also appears on the membership list.
The name of another name in political circles shows up on the Bohemian Grove society’s membership: former “Supermarket Sweep” host David Ruprecht, who also served as the former executive director of the Libertarian Party of California.
John Fisher, primary owner of the Athletics professional baseball team is also on the list obtained by Boguslaw.
So is San Diego Padres minority owner Peter O’Malley and Athletics team physician Dr. Jon Dickinson.
Robert Rowell, former Golden State Warriors president, is also listed as a member of the Bohemian Grove society.
The membership roll includes the names of several prominent journalists, including NBC Bay Area news anchor Raj Mathai, MSNBC host Chris Matthews, former “Meet The Press” moderator David Gregory and former USA Today journalist David Judson.
Also listed is the late James B. McClatchy, former journalist and publisher of the McClatchy Company.
Sacramento Valley rice farmer and water activist Kenneth LaGrande, Sacramento-area real estate investor Charley Jacobes and San Joaquin Valley attorney Kevin Kelley also show up on the list.
The full list is published as a searchable database.
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This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 11:23 AM.
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Lauren Chapman is The Sacramento Bee’s service journalism editor. Based in Sacramento, she rejoined The Bee in 2025 after first interning in 2014. She spent the last decade covering state government in Indiana, winning national recognition for her work building civic literacy resources and tools.