By Marcus D. Zalt, Senior Correspondent
Inside the donor club co-founded by J.D. Vance and Chris Buskirk — where the money flows, where they meet, and why watchdogs say its posture is anti-democratic.
A Private Club With Public Ambitions
The Rockbridge Network is not a household name, but it is rapidly becoming one of the most influential forces in American conservative politics. Founded in 2021 by J.D. Vance and Chris Buskirk, the network operates less like a traditional think tank and more like a command center — a donor pool, strategy hub, and operations incubator rolled into one.
Rockbridge pitches itself to wealthy conservatives as “political venture capital.” Membership ranges from $100,000 to $1 million, with an inner circle of 150–200 donors. Budgets have ballooned: roughly $30 million in 2022, with targets of $70–80 million for the 2024 cycle. Money flows into a portfolio of projects that bypass the Republican Party’s traditional infrastructure.
The Thiel Factor
Rockbridge’s ideological DNA also bears the imprint of billionaire investor Peter Thiel. A mentor and funder of J.D. Vance, Thiel was among the early financiers of the network and remains a presence at its high-dollar retreats. His philosophy — deregulation, crypto-friendliness, and opposition to diversity mandates — infuses Rockbridge’s ventures, particularly the incubated fund 1789 Capital. In many ways, Rockbridge is not just a political machine but an extension of the Thielian project to reshape institutions through wealth and technology.
1789 Capital: Financing a Parallel Economy
Rockbridge’s influence extends beyond politics into finance. Out of its closed-door summits came 1789 Capital, a venture fund co-founded by Rockbridge organizer Chris Buskirk and hedge fund manager Omeed Malik, with heavy backing from conservative donor Rebekah Mercer. The name itself nods to revolution — 1789 being the year of the French Revolution — signaling the fund’s ambition to disrupt the existing financial order.
1789 Capital brands itself as the engine of a “parallel economy.” Its mission is explicitly anti-ESG and anti-DEI, rejecting what it calls “woke capital” and pledging to invest only in companies aligned with libertarian and nationalist values. In 2023, the fund made headlines by investing $15 million in Tucker Carlson’s new media company, positioning itself as a cornerstone of the alternative conservative media ecosystem.
The fund’s posture is not merely cultural but strategic. By channeling capital into aligned media, consumer goods, and tech ventures, 1789 Capital seeks to create a marketplace where conservative donors and consumers can insulate themselves from mainstream corporate pressures. Critics argue this not only narrows participation but accelerates the fragmentation of economic life along ideological lines.
In many ways, 1789 Capital is to business what Rockbridge is to politics — a shadow ecosystem, operating parallel to traditional institutions, designed to reshape the public square by building alternatives rather than competing within existing frameworks.
Winklevoss Influence: Crypto’s Political Footprint
Beyond its direct political arms, Rockbridge shares ideological overlap with crypto power players like the Winklevoss twins, founders of Gemini. Both Rockbridge and Gemini’s backers emphasize deregulation, libertarian finance, and resistance to diversity-driven mandates. The Gemini model — fighting regulators while pitching freedom-first finance — mirrors the Rockbridge playbook in politics: bypass traditional oversight, create parallel structures, and consolidate influence.
Inside the Beltway: Cabinet Ties at the Retreat
At Rockbridge’s recent invite-only conference in Miami, held at the Ritz-Carlton, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was among the notable attendees, along with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. City AM+8Monitoring Influence+8New York Post+8New York Post. Their presence underscores the network’s capacity to interface directly with active members of the Biden administration, extending its influence not only through media and state-level operations, but into the highest echelons of federal policy.
Where They Meet
The network convenes twice a year in lavish, invite-only retreats. In April 2024, Rockbridge gathered at the Four Seasons in Palm Beach, where Donald Trump delivered remarks by video while on trial in New York. Previous summits have been staged at Mar-a-Lago and in Arizona. Behind closed doors, attendees hear from operatives, aligned candidates, and ideological entrepreneurs.
These retreats function as pitch sessions and strategy workshops. Organizers unveil budgets and targets, donors shop for initiatives, and new projects are greenlit. In effect, it is the place where conservative politics gets capitalized before it reaches the ballot box.
The Portfolio: Media, Churches, Courts, and Ground Game
Rockbridge is not a single organization but a cluster of entities designed to influence different levers of power:
- Firebrand Action (Virginia, 2022) — finances “investigative journalism” for placement in aligned outlets, and underwrites polling meant to shape the narrative environment.
- Better Tomorrow and Over the Horizon — turnout operations in seven battleground states, with ambitions of 5,000 field staff in 2024.
- Faithful in Action (Wyoming, 2023) — mobilizes church congregations as political foot soldiers.
- Strategic Litigation — millions budgeted for “lawfare” against media and election processes.
- Transition Project — a government-in-waiting playbook to staff a future GOP administration.
The network also helped incubate 1789 Capital, a venture capital fund branded as anti-ESG and anti-DEI. Led by Buskirk and investor Omeed Malik, with backing from Rebekah Mercer, 1789 Capital poured $15 million into Tucker Carlson’s media company and markets itself as the spearhead of a “parallel economy.”
Ideology: Libertarian Edge, Anti-Diversity Posture
While Rockbridge frames itself as a pro-innovation donor hub, its ideological currents are clear. Internal materials emphasize loosening oversight of tech, crypto, and AI. Through 1789 Capital, it positions itself directly against ESG and DEI initiatives, casting “woke capitalism” as a threat.
The church-mobilization strategy narrows participation to a specific religious-cultural base rather than a broad democratic coalition. Watchdogs argue this “non-diversity posture” signals not just preference but design — a systematic effort to privilege one ideological segment in the civic arena.
The Democratic Dilemma
What makes Rockbridge different from prior donor circles is its emphasis on control over conversation. Rather than seeding policy debates, it invests in media outlets that echo its worldview, litigation to kneecap critics, polling to tilt the averages, and turnout engines to deliver votes.
J.D. Vance himself has used Rockbridge platforms to reiterate false claims about the 2020 election. Combined with the Transition Project’s staffing ambitions, critics argue this amounts to preparing a shadow state — a bid to concentrate power outside transparent party processes.
Why It Matters
Rockbridge is less a salon for conservative thinkers than a war chest for power seekers. Its retreats are where strategy, money, and ideology converge; its affiliates are where that vision is executed.
As U.S. politics heads into a volatile cycle, Rockbridge represents a new model: a self-financed parallel party apparatus, libertarian in economics, anti-diversity in posture, and willing to bend democratic norms for victory.
For citizens and watchdogs alike, the question is no longer whether Rockbridge exists. It’s whether the rest of us can afford not to notice.
Sources
- Reuters: Inside Rockbridge Network’s Strategy Docs (2024)
- Monitoring Influence: Rockbridge Network Profile
- InfluenceWatch: Rockbridge Network Overview
- Politico, New York Post, and secondary reporting on 1789 Capital
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