MAGA Wants Aristocracy?
Inside a secret group of the American Oligarchy
“You either have an extractive elite — an oligarchy — or you have a productive elite — an aristocracy — in every society.” - Chris Buskirk
A few years ago, a small group of wealthy conservatives rented a resort near the tiny town of Rockbridge, Ohio. They met there in 2019 at the invitation of Peter Thiel and JD Vance. People who attended later confirmed that Rebekah Mercer, Tucker Carlson, and Oren Cass were among the guests. That weekend became the starting point for something they named the Rockbridge Network. There is no official site that explains what it does. There is no public list of members. The only reason we know anything about it is because reporters have spent years following the people involved.
The network started with a simple idea. The donors at that Ohio gathering were frustrated with the Republican Party. They believed the institutions on the right had grown stale. They said the party was unprepared for a political era shaped by digital influence, organized donor blocs, targeted lawsuits, and voter databases built outside traditional campaign structures. They wanted something faster. They wanted something more aggressive. They wanted something that did not rely on party committees or legacy think tanks. The answer they built was an invite-only donor network that would create its own political infrastructure.
Rockbridge formed later that year. It began as a private fund where conservative donors invested money into groups that promised to reshape the political landscape. It had no interest in operating visibly. It directed money into new voter-turnout groups, new media projects, legal advocacy organizations, and researchers who specialized in persuasion and data modeling. These were not separate efforts. They were guided from the same network of donors and strategists.
The numbers tell you what kind of scale they were planning for. By 2024, the network had an election budget of roughly seventy-five million dollars. That money flowed into a super PAC that hired thousands of canvassers, a documentary film project, several dark-money nonprofits that focused on church turnout, and a data operation that used outdoor clubs and religious groups as entry points for voter targeting. What makes this stand out is the structure behind it. Everything connected back to a single donor consortium that set the priorities.
Chris Buskirk eventually emerged as the figure who shaped the network’s identity. He had already built connections through the conservative media world and through projects that had been backed by Thiel. He later partnered with Vance to structure Rockbridge. He also became the one who explained its purpose. He said that every society ends up under the direction of a powerful group of people. He pointed to moments in history where small clusters of ambitious individuals drove major changes. When he described his vision for Rockbridge, he used the word aristocracy. He meant a group of high-achieving elites who see themselves as builders. He argued that this kind of leadership is necessary during times of national disorder.
That idea now sits at the center of the network. They raise money from investors who want to influence the country’s political direction. They fund organizations that bypass the traditional conservative establishment. They work with media strategists who can shift narratives at scale. They build voter operations that can be deployed in states where the margins are small. At the same time, the network has deep ties to the Trump administration and to the office of the vice president. JD Vance helped found Rockbridge. Members of the network regularly attend gatherings where Trump, Vance, Leonard Leo, David Sacks, Marc Andreessen, and other influential figures appear.
There is also a financial branch that lives next to the political side. Buskirk co-founded a venture firm called 1789 Capital with Omeed Malik. It now manages more than one billion dollars in assets. Donald Trump Jr. is a partner. The fund targets investments in defense, artificial intelligence, and energy. The sectors line up closely with the priorities of the administration. This is part of the reason critics describe Rockbridge and 1789 as pieces of the same structure. Donors influence political direction. Political direction influences the value of their investments.
Ethics experts have raised concerns about this arrangement. They say it creates the appearance of a closed network where donors pay to be included, where elected officials speak at donor retreats, and where public policy appears to benefit the business interests of the same people funding the network’s political work. Rockbridge rejects this framing. Its leaders say their donors are supporting a national renewal project and backing groups that can deliver results the Republican National Committee has failed to produce.
Rockbridge’s members are now positioned inside the political bloodstream of the country. They played a role in helping elect Trump and lifting Vance into the vice presidency. They are preparing for the next cycle with more money, more conservative media projects, and a larger circle of tech investors. They have the freedom to act because most of the country has no idea they exist. They do not show up on ballots. They do not appear next to the laws their work shapes. They live behind closed doors in a space that is neither a political party nor a public institution. They are simply a private network that influences the direction of the country from the shadows created by donor secrecy.
This is what happens when America’s wealthiest actors decide to build their own political engine. A resort meeting in rural Ohio becomes a project that reaches into the White House, venture-capital portfolios, churches, state legislatures, digital ad firms, documentary producers, and the people writing the next wave of conservative policy.
The goals are clear to anyone paying attention. The people inside the network believe they are the ones who can guide the country through conflict and instability. They believe they form the circle that can shape the future. They do not say this publicly. They do not need to. Their work already explains what they think they are building.
FACT APPENDIX: ROCKBRIDGE NETWORK
1. Rockbridge’s formation and purpose
The Rockbridge Network is a conservative political advocacy group founded in 2019 by JD Vance and Chris Buskirk. It describes itself as a “kind of political venture capital firm” that aims to replace the existing Republican ecosystem with more effective institutions focused on winning.
Sources:Reuters – “Tech donor network co-founded by JD Vance seeks to push America to the right”
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/tech-donor-network-co-founded-by-jd-vance-seeks-push-america-right-2024-08-20/ (Reuters)Rockbridge Network overview (Wikipedia, summarizing documents and reporting)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbridge_Network (Wikipedia)
2. The 2019 Rockbridge, Ohio meeting
In 2019, JD Vance and Peter Thiel convened a small group “at an inn in rural Ohio, located just outside the tiny town that would become the organization’s namesake,” to address what they saw as a coordination problem for MAGA-aligned donors and activists.
Sources:Washington Post – “The secretive donor circle that lifted JD Vance is now rewriting MAGA’s future”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/11/04/chris-buskirk-maga-vance-post-trump/ (The Washington Post)Rockbridge Network overview (History section referencing the New York Times)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbridge_Network (Wikipedia)
3. Rockbridge as a centrally controlled donor network
Reuters describes Rockbridge as a donor organization that “seeks to influence U.S. politics through a centrally controlled network of right-wing political groups backed by some of the same deep-pocketed tech investors who helped bankroll Vance’s political rise.”
Source:
4. Size of the 2024 election budget and number of groups
Internal Rockbridge documents reviewed by Reuters showed “its roughly $75 million budget for 2024” and that it “oversees five political groups and one super PAC.”
Source:The Rockbridge Network entry, citing the New York Times, says Rockbridge “steers eight organizations, including four dark-money 501(c)(4) organizations, two super PACs, a donor-advised 501(c)(3) fund, and the Rockbridge Network umbrella LLC.”
Source:Rockbridge Network overview
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbridge_Network (Wikipedia)
5. No public-facing websites for Rockbridge groups
The Washington Post reports that, as of November 2025, Rockbridge’s groups have almost no public presence and that none maintain their own standard websites.
Source:
6. Key donors and tech/finance backing
Reuters reports that donors include Peter Thiel, Rebekah Mercer, Blake Masters, and Omeed Malik, and that many back both Rockbridge and Vance.
Source:The Rockbridge Network entry lists major donors including Rebekah Mercer, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, and Peter Thiel.
Source:Rockbridge Network overview
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbridge_Network (Wikipedia)
7. Membership levels and size of the network
As of late 2024, Rockbridge membership tiers ran from $100,000 for a “limited partner” to $1,000,000 for a “principal partner,” with roughly 150 members by November 2024.
Source:Rockbridge Network overview (citing NYT and other reporting)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbridge_Network (Wikipedia)
8. Role in Trump’s reelection and Vance’s rise
The Washington Post describes Rockbridge as a “secretive donor circle” that helped re-elect Trump and “lifted JD Vance” into the vice presidency via coordinated media, turnout, and organizing efforts.
Source:Reuters confirms that Rockbridge’s 2024 budget and apparatus were geared toward influencing the presidential election and that many donors are also major backers of Vance.
Source:
9. Rockbridge’s projects and strategy
A Rockbridge brochure, summarized in the wiki, describes projects such as:
building a “new conservative ecosystem” of media
“lawfare and strategic litigation” to target “bad actors, including the media”
a “Transition Project” to build a “government-in-waiting” for the next Republican administration
a “Red State Project” to coordinate groups at the state level and influence redistricting
Source:Rockbridge Network overview, quoting the internal brochure
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbridge_Network (Wikipedia)
10. Use of churches, outdoors networks, and membership funnels
The Washington Post reports that Rockbridge built “online sales funnels” around social groups like small-business owners, outdoors enthusiasts, and church attendees, instead of traditional last-minute political outreach.
Source:Reuters describes specific Rockbridge-linked entities like “The Faithful in Action” whose mission is to recruit churchgoers into political activism.
Source:
11. Turnout for America and swing-state canvassing
The Washington Post notes that Rockbridge’s affiliated super PAC, Turnout for America, was one of several groups canvassing swing states on behalf of the Trump campaign, employing around 3,000 canvassers. Internal data cited in the article claim they targeted low-propensity voters in seven swing states.
Source:
12. Chris Buskirk’s role and ideology (“aristocracy”)
The Washington Post profile identifies Buskirk as Rockbridge’s co-founder and central organizer and quotes him on the need for “talented, high-agency people working together in high-trust environments.” The same piece and commentary around it summarize his argument that societies end up either with an “extractive” oligarchy or a “productive” elite, an “aristocracy.”
Source:Additional commentary summarizing the WaPo piece and Buskirk’s “aristocracy” framing:
Puck / secondary analysis
(P4sc4l)
13. 1789 Capital’s size, mission, and ties to Rockbridge
Reuters reports that 1789 Capital, co-founded by Omeed Malik and Chris Buskirk, surpassed $1 billion in assets after Trump’s return to office and Donald Trump Jr. joining as a partner. It describes 1789’s mission as “patriotic capitalism” and details investments in defense, AI, and other sectors exposed to federal policy.
Source:Reuters – “Trump-linked venture fund 1789 Capital tops $1 billion in assets”
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/trump-linked-venture-fund-1789-capital-tops-1-billion-assets-2025-09-08/ (Reuters)
The Rockbridge wiki notes that discussions at a Rockbridge meeting at Mar-a-Lago between Buskirk, Omeed Malik, and Rebekah Mercer led to the founding of 1789 Capital.
Source:Rockbridge Network overview
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbridge_Network (Wikipedia)
The 1789 Capital entry aggregates additional reporting on its portfolio and role in the “parallel economy.”
Source:1789 Capital overview
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1789_Capital (Wikipedia)
14. Ethics concerns and “pay-to-play” appearance
The Washington Post quotes former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter describing Rockbridge, 1789, and associated clubs as creating the appearance of a “pay to play” environment where access to administration officials and the Trump family is linked to donor participation.
Source:Reuters quotes multiple ethics experts expressing concern that 1789 Capital’s structure and Don Jr.’s role create potential conflicts of interest because portfolio companies may benefit from Trump administration policies.
Source:Reuters – 1789 Capital investigation
https://www.reuters.com/investigations/trump-linked-venture-fund-1789-capital-tops-1-billion-assets-2025-09-08/ (Reuters)
15. Rockbridge conferences and high-level attendees
The Rockbridge Network entry lists numerous high-profile speakers at Rockbridge summits, including Donald Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Tucker Carlson, Marc Andreessen, David Sacks, Leonard Leo, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Palmer Luckey, and others, citing the New York Times and other outlets.
Source:Rockbridge Network overview
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockbridge_Network (Wikipedia)
Watchdog reporting confirms Leonard Leo’s appearance at a Rockbridge summit at Mar-a-Lago.
Source:Accountable.US – “Leonard Leo Makes Mar-a-Lago Appearance for MAGA Rockbridge Donor Group”
https://accountable.us/leonard-leo-makes-mar-a-lago-appearance-for-maga-rockbridge-donor-group/ (Accountable US)
Additional narrative on Rockbridge’s conference circuit and its role as a tech–GOP nexus:
Source:New York Post business feature
https://nypost.com/2025/04/18/business/inside-political-vc-firm-rockbridge-and-how-its-united-gop-and-tech-united/ (New York Post)
Similar schemers brought on the Great Depression, the Great Recession and all other depressions and recessions in between. Many of the leaders of such cabals have been profiting immensely since the late 19th Century.
Thank you for educating me, Cory