Money Grab/Charge for access to the president
Don Jr. opens the Executive Branch club with a $500,000 initiation fee
Executive Branch, a members-only club in Georgetown founded by Donald Trump Jr., 1789 Capital’s Omeed Malik and Christopher Buskirk, and Zach and Alex Witkoff, opened on April 26, 2025, with at least half a dozen administration officials attending. Founding membership cost $500,000.
What happened
On April 26, 2025, while Washington’s press corps was at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Donald Trump Jr. and his partners opened a club in Georgetown. Executive Branch admits members by invitation. Its founders are Trump Jr.; Omeed Malik and Christopher Buskirk, his partners at the venture fund 1789 Capital; and Zach and Alex Witkoff, sons of Steve Witkoff, the president’s envoy to the Middle East.
Founding membership cost $500,000, with annual dues on top. Founding members were reported to include David Sacks, the White House crypto and AI adviser, and the Winklevoss twins, whose exchange was then under SEC scrutiny. At least half a dozen administration officials attended the opening. The founders said they closed the waitlist within a day.
The club’s stated purpose is to give executives a private place to be near the people running the government. The Witkoff brothers’ father is the president’s Middle East envoy, and the Witkoff family co-founded World Liberty Financial with the Trumps. Malik and Buskirk are Trump Jr.‘s partners at 1789 Capital.
Who benefited
Trump Jr. and his partners collect the $500,000 fees and the annual dues. The members pay for proximity to an administration whose officials are their fellow members or their guests. David Sacks, the White House crypto and AI adviser, was reported among the founding members.
Who wanted something
Executives and investors with business before the government paid $500,000 for a room where the president’s son and his advisers are regulars. The Winklevosses’ company had an open SEC matter at the time; it was later closed.
Who lost out
Anyone with business before the government who cannot pay $500,000 does not get the same access. The other loss is the premise that access to officials is not sold by the president’s family. The officials in the room are the ones who decide the members’ matters.
Why it matters
Mar-a-Lago sells proximity to the president for a $1 million initiation fee. Executive Branch is the same product, in Washington, sold by his son for $500,000, to people whose cases and contracts are decided by the people in the room.
Sources NBC NewsThe New York SunBusiness Insider (via Yahoo)