Comparison · 15 material differences
Bohemian Club vs The Rainier Club
This comparison was generated on request from the records. It carries no editorial verdict and is not indexed. The published comparisons are listed on the compare page.
Read down each column for one organization, across a row for the difference. A bronze mark at the left of a cell means the organizations differ on that row. A dash or “not published” means the organization does not disclose the fact; it is not a zero.
Verified September 2026 Private club
Wikophile1 · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Bohemian Club
Not publicly disclosed. The club publishes nothing about who it admits; its bylaws require that ten percent of the membership be accomplished artists -- composers, musicians…
Private club
The Rainier Club
The club describes its members as founders, freelancers, entrepreneurs and executives, and markets separate tiers to residents of the Seattle area, to people under 40, and to…
What the records say
- Maximum age at joining: Bohemian Club: No published maximum age at joining; The Rainier Club: Under 40 Membership is for members aged 18 to 39.
- Minimum age: Bohemian Club: No published minimum age; The Rainier Club: Resident Membership is for members aged 40 and over.
- Gender: Bohemian Club: Men only; The Rainier Club: No published gender.
- Geographic restriction: Bohemian Club: No published geographic restriction; The Rainier Club: Non-Resident Membership requires living and working outside a 50-mile radius of the club.
- Annual dues: Bohemian Club: Not publicly disclosed. Figures circulate in secondary commentary but could not be traced to a reliable source.; The Rainier Club: All three tiers publish both an initiation fee and dues. Resident and Under 40 dues are billed monthly; non-resident dues are billed quarterly..
Side by side
| Bohemian Club | The Rainier Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Profile | ||
| Type | Private club | Private club |
| Founded | 1872 (Founded in April 1872 by and for journalists who wanted a fraternal association among men who enjoyed the arts; the founding group first took a room on Sacramento Street in San Francisco.) | 1888 (The club describes itself as "a storied social club since 1888" and as Seattle's oldest private social club. Secondary accounts date the founding meeting to 25 July 1888, following a proposal on 23 February 1888.) |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, United States | Seattle, United States |
| Geographic footprint | Clubhouse at 624 Taylor Street on Nob Hill, San Francisco, plus the club's Bohemian Grove property in Sonoma County, California | Single clubhouse at 820 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle |
| Members | Not publicly disclosed | Not publicly disclosed |
| Chapters | No chapters. Within the Bohemian Grove encampment members belong to camps, of which there were 118 as of 2007 according to Wikipedia. | Single clubhouse; no chapters |
| Primary audience | Not publicly disclosed. The club publishes nothing about who it admits; its bylaws require that ten percent of the membership be accomplished artists -- composers, musicians, singers, actors, lighting artists, painters and authors -- and membership is restricted to men. | The club describes its members as founders, freelancers, entrepreneurs and executives, and markets separate tiers to residents of the Seattle area, to people under 40, and to non-residents living and working more than 50 miles from the club. |
| Typical member | Not publicly disclosed. Modern membership lists are private. Secondary accounts describe a club that began as a journalists' and artists' association and came to be dominated by business figures within its first decades, with a bylaw reserving a tenth of places for working artists. | Members are Seattle-area business, professional and civic people, with a distinct under-40 tier and a non-resident tier. The club publishes no membership total or occupational breakdown. |
| Qualification | ||
| Maximum age at joining | No published maximum age at joining | Under 40 Membership is for members aged 18 to 39A separate resident tier applies from age 40verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Minimum age | No published minimum age | Resident Membership is for members aged 40 and overMembers aged 18 to 39 join the Under 40 tier at a lower rateverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Gender | Men onlyMembership remains restricted to men, per Wikipedia's article; the club itself publishes nothingverified September 2026 · source ↗ | No published gender |
| Geographic restriction | No published geographic restriction | Non-Resident Membership requires living and working outside a 50-mile radius of the clubNon-resident members receive a complimentary Palmer Advantage golf and travel membershipverified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Invitation required | Not documented | No |
| Sponsor required | Not documented | Not documented |
| Application process | Not publicly disclosed. The club's website consists of a member login, a privacy policy and an employment link; there is no membership page, application form, contact address or telephone number for prospective members. | Prospective members schedule a clubhouse tour through the club's website or membership office and are then quoted the published tier rate for their age and location. The club does not publish a sponsorship, proposal or ballot requirement, nor a review committee. |
| Selectivity | Not publicly disclosed. Membership lists are private and the club does not publish acceptance figures or a waiting list. | Not publicly disclosed. The club publishes prices and tiers but no acceptance criteria, waiting list or approval process. |
| Cost | ||
| Annual dues | Not publicly disclosed. Figures circulate in secondary commentary but could not be traced to a reliable source.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | All three tiers publish both an initiation fee and dues. Resident and Under 40 dues are billed monthly; non-resident dues are billed quarterly. |
| Monthly dues | Could not be independently verified. The club publishes nothing and no reliable published figure was located in this research. | $575 a monthResident Membership, age 40 and oververified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Initiation fee | Not publicly disclosed. Figures circulate in secondary commentary but could not be traced to a reliable source.verified September 2026 · source ↗ | $4,000 one-timeResident Membership, age 40 and over. No-APR financing of the initiation fee is available for up to one year under contract, with conditions.verified September 2026 · source ↗ |
| Membership term | Not documented | Monthly dues for resident and under-40 members; quarterly dues for non-resident members |
| Structure | ||
| Meeting frequency | Year-round clubhouse use plus an annual two-week summer encampment at Bohemian Grove spanning three weekends, attended by roughly 2,500 people | More than 400 member and signature events a year; clubhouse and gym accessible 24 hours |
| Peer forums | Within the Grove encampment members belong to camps; 118 camps were counted as of 2007 and they function as the main social units of the gathering | Not documented |
| Confidentiality | Membership lists are private and the club maintains no public web presence; the club motto "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here" is understood as a rule against conducting business at its formal gatherings | Not publicly disclosed |
| Time commitment | Not documented | Not documented |
| Organized as | Clubhouse premises, Event-focused | Clubhouse premises, Event-focused |
| Confidential peer forums | No | No |
| Local chapters | No | No |
| Virtual membership | No | No |
| Online community | No | No |
| Member directory | Not documented | Not documented |
| Events | Yes | Yes |
| Programming | ||
| Educational programming | Not documented | Partial |
| Leadership development | No | Partial |
| Retreats | Yes | No |
| Travel | Not documented | Yes |
| Family programming | Not documented | Not documented |
| Spouse and partner programming | Not documented | Yes |
| Next-generation programming | Not documented | Yes |
| Investment discussions | Not documented | No |
| Investment opportunities | No | No |
| Philanthropic component | Not documented | Partial |
| Networking emphasis | Not documented | High |
| Social emphasis | High | High |
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Sources
Drawn from the sources listed on each page: Bohemian Club · The Rainier Club