Trump's son opens a $500,000 high-priced club! MAGA elite compensation premium controversy.

CNBC reported in April that Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. founded a private club called Executive Branch. With unverified insider trading information about the Trump family circulating online, the club has regained community attention. The membership fee for Executive Branch is 500,000 dollars, making it one of the most expensive private clubs in North America, with typical prices ranging from 4,000 to 10,000 dollars.

Trump's son joins 1789 Capital to create the most expensive club in the U.S.

The Executive Branch was co-founded by Donald Trump Jr., Omeed Malik of 1789 Capital, and Christopher Buskirk. Donald Trump Jr. is also a partner at 1789 Capital, which has invested in Polymarket. This investment relationship shows that the business network of Trump's son is highly intertwined with his father's political resources, forming a huge complex of power and capital.

1789 Capital is a venture capital fund focused on investing in companies related to conservative values. The fund is named after the year 1789, when the United States Constitution went into effect, implying its commitment to traditional American values. Omeed Malik was a senior banker at UBS Group, while Christopher Buskirk is the founder of the conservative media outlet American Greatness. This combination of political and financial backgrounds makes 1789 Capital an important bridge connecting Wall Street and Washington.

The club's co-founders also include Alex Witkoff and Zach Witkoff, sons of Steve Witkoff, the current Middle East envoy of the Trump administration and a real estate billionaire. Steve Witkoff is a longtime friend and major political donor of Trump, and his sons co-founded World Liberty Financial, one of the core enterprises of the Trump family's cryptocurrency empire. Alex and Zach Witkoff hold 3.75 billion WLFI tokens, currently valued at approximately $530 million.

This intricate web of relationships shows that the Executive Branch is not just a social club, but also a crossroads of the Trump family's business interests and political power. When key decision-makers of the Trump administration, business partners of Trump’s sons, and political allies of Trump’s father gather in the same private space, the public is unable to know what was discussed in these meetings and what decisions were made.

Executive Branch Founding Team Background

Donald Trump Jr.: Trump’s eldest son, partner at 1789 Capital, executive vice president of the Trump Organization.

Omeed Malik: Founder of 1789 Capital, former senior banker at UBS

Christopher Buskirk: Founder of the conservative media outlet “American Greatness”

Alex & Zach Witkoff: Son of Trump's Middle East envoy, co-founder of World Liberty Financial

$500,000 membership threshold, is the compensation premium or market pricing?

It is understood that the membership fee for Executive Branch is as high as $500,000, making it one of the most expensive private clubs in North America. After the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a surge in private clubs in North America, which typically offer exclusive restaurants and bars, meeting spaces, gyms, and spas, generally priced between $4,000 and $10,000. The $500,000 pricing of Executive Branch is 50 to 125 times that of ordinary high-end clubs, and this huge price difference has raised widespread skepticism.

The pricing of this “MAGA Elite's Private Club” seems to imply a premium for political connections. Critics argue that the $500,000 buys not the club's facilities and services, but rather the opportunity to engage with the Trump family and White House decision-makers. In the history of American politics, such a practice of openly pricing political access is extremely rare. Traditionally, political donations are subject to strict legal limits and transparency requirements, but membership fees for private clubs fall under commercial transactions and are not bound by campaign finance regulations.

The founding members of the club include White House crypto czar David Sacks, cryptocurrency exchange twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and tech investor Chamath Palihapitiya. This list of founding members is itself highly persuasive, proving that the club can indeed provide unique value. David Sacks, as a key architect of White House cryptocurrency policy, means that members can directly influence the regulatory policies surrounding cryptocurrency in the United States.

Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss are the founders of a CEX exchange. They donated millions of dollars to Trump’s inauguration and are active proponents of Trump’s crypto policies. Chamath Palihapitiya is one of Silicon Valley's most well-known investors and was an early executive at Facebook, currently managing billions of dollars in venture capital funds. The common characteristic of these founding members is that they all have strong political aspirations and need to engage with decision-makers to advance their business interests.

Baylor University distinguished psychology professor Diana Kendall stated: “The club allows Donald Trump to hide behind the scenes, keeping the public unaware of whom he is meeting with, especially those business and tech giants who are truly hungry for power.” This observation touches on the core controversy of the Executive Branch: it provides a legal vacuum that allows for the political-business dealings to occur without public oversight.

The Gray Area Between the White House Decision-Making Circle and Business Interests

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The composition of the Executive Branch reveals a larger issue: how the decision-making circle of the Trump administration interacts with the commercial interests of the Trump family. When the White House crypto czar, founders of major exchanges, and business partners of Trump’s sons regularly meet in private clubs, it's hard to believe that these meetings are solely social.

The $500,000 membership threshold has also sparked discussions, with some believing that this club will hide the complex relationships between the Trump administration and business behind the scenes. Even the pricing of this “most expensive MAGA elite private club” in the United States is filled with a premium for political favors. A premium for political favors refers to the fees paid by members that far exceed the actual value of the facilities and services provided by the club, with the excess being a hidden cost paid for political connections.

From a business perspective, a pricing of $500,000 may be reasonable. If members can indeed influence White House policies through this club, thereby creating tens of millions or even billions of dollars in business opportunities for their companies, then this membership fee is an extremely worthwhile investment. For cryptocurrency exchanges, a favorable regulatory policy could be worth billions of dollars. Similarly, for technology companies, government contracts or policy support are also of great significance.

As unverified insider trading information about the Trump family circulates online, the private club has regained community follow. Although this information has not been officially confirmed, the existence of the Executive Branch itself provides a reasonable space for these speculations. When political power, business interests, and family wealth intersect in a closed private space, transparency and accountability become the biggest sacrifices.

This model is unprecedented in modern American history. Former President George W. Bush's chief ethics lawyer Richard Painter stated: “Since the Civil War, every president has avoided any significant conflicts of economic interest with their public duties.” Jimmy Carter entrusted his peanut farm to a blind trust, while George W. Bush sold his shares in the Texas Rangers before taking office as president. In contrast, the Trump family not only did not avoid conflicts of interest, but systematically converted political power into business opportunities.