Hosting this fall’s gathering so soon after the election risked turning the summit into a wake.

It was the opposite.

Even before the event officially began, Ms. #Wiles was in Las Vegas,
headlining an outdoor Saturday dinner at a steakhouse for about 30 Rockbridge donors and friends.

Around the jubilant open bars and music-filled ballrooms, attendees openly traded notes on what Trump administration roles they might get
and debated whether Mr. #Musk was the world’s most powerful person.

“Generally everyone at Rockbridge was very happy that technologists and politicians are working together directly again
and not openly hostile toward each other,”
said #John #Coogan, the co-founder of Soylent who attended.

“It’s no longer a question of whether technology will drive the future, but how we guide its impact.
So it makes sense that tech billionaires and the political elite are partying together.”

Mr. #Vance did not attend, a rare absence and a disappointment to some loyalists.

But his victory made Rockbridge suddenly a hot ticket and spurred some last-minute sign-ups.

After sometimes letting prospective members attend for just $5,000, Rockbridge raised the minimum cost to $25,000
(although some people said privately that they had been able to get in for less).

The cost of Rockbridge membership ranges from $100,000 to be a “limited partner”
to $1,000,000 for a “principal partner,”
according to a prospectus seen by The Times.

That money goes toward the eight vehicles that Rockbridge steers,
including four dark-money 501(c)(4) organizations,
two super PACs,
a donor-advised 501(c)(3) fund for nonprofit activity
and the Rockbridge Network umbrella organization,
an L.L.C. Mr. Buskirk’s main super PAC, "Turnout for America", has raised at least $25 million this year.

These eight Rockbridge groups have primarily run get-out-the-vote operations.

One, called "Faithful in Action", claims to have 160,000 members
and organizes small churches with field teams twice a week.

The group has no public presence.

Rockbridge groups have also produced documentaries that investigate prosecutors pursuing cases against Mr. Trump.

Rockbridge, according to the prospectus, has since 2020 “underwritten” polling “that has been made available for free to allied media organizations.”

And the group has helped pay for
“local and national investigations” that are “published by aligned media outlets.”