YouSaid · the spoken record

Jeff Klein

lines on the record: 57
first: 2026-05-14
most recent: 2026-05-14
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I appreciate that. And I agree. And it's funny when I started it, I was nervous about is this elitist thing? And it really is not, and it's a community thing. Yeah. I love that you see that and I'm very proud of it.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The moment we're creating feelings, and so it's hard to do. So, you know, it's like Deakins is great at that because, I mean, Deacon's, it's like even the smell of the wood, you know, and the...”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That I went to. That was, I would say, one of the most special hotels I've ever been to. And he would, the chef would cook over an open flame. There was like each room had its own personality. It was just like really, it wasn't fancy. There was no, and it was in this like weird little town in the middle of nowhere. It was really cool. It was just a very, I connected to that place very profoundly. And also the food was delicious, and you'd look at the stars at night, and it was just the really pretty pool. And it was a very cool place.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I know, and it happens. There was a place in the middle of nowhere in a town called Garzone that the chef Francis Melman Uruguay.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's a very magical place. And a great example of a place that has a soul that they have respected and enhanced rather than ruined because so many of these places could get bought. Deacons could get bought by some asshole who's rich. That's always my right.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I mean, I hope it outlives me. That's a great question. I've never been asked that. I mean, I've seen a lot of trends come and go in hospitality. Longevity is much harder than relevance for a moment. My long-term vision is not to build the hottest places again, but to build places that are that have weight to them, that really that's what I'd like to be remembered for. I want the clubs and the hotels to feel timeless rather than trendy. And that affects every single decision, you know, where we grow the design, the membership, the music, the lighting, press exposure, how much attention we seek publicly, trendy spaces optimize for excitement and enduring spaces like us optimize for emotional attachment.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I think so. But I also would never do, like the London Hotel is for sale in LA and they keep on trying to get me to buy it. I would never buy it. It's on San Vicente and Sunset. It's a great location, but nobody can make that special. Nobody can give that place a soul. You'd have to tear it down.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So I'm really lucky. I mean, honestly, my only, I have two hotels. I have the Sun's Tower and then I have this little hotel 850, which is so sweet. And they're both so unique that, and there's nobody... Truly competing with either of them. I mean, for example, and to me, this is a trick in business. It's like the Sunset Tower is singular. It's this Art Deco Hollywood hotel. Okay, yes, if you want old Hollywood, perhaps you could go to the chateau or perhaps you could go to the Beverly Hills Hotel. Those are also two very different things. But if you want old Hollywood and you want it to be chic and you don't want it to be a ripoff and you don't want it to...”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, that's why I kind of knew he was going to be so amazing because really that's what she is editing a magazine, a real life magazine.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So Dimitri is the Maitre D at the Tower Bar. He's this old school, he's from Macedonia. He bows. He just loves his job. He is literally the definition of hospitality. And Gabby has become as well. Gabby's the head of membership, global membership. She oversees all three clubs. So she's really with me curating who and this committee who we're going after. I mean, Gabby will wake up one day and say We don't have enough people in Broadway in the theater, you know, in New York. Let's find some. Let's find some. Let's contact some producers, directors, whatever it is, and get that community. It needs to be more well-rounded. This is like one area.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Great hospitality people like Tip Conley are artists in their own way and they're creating atmosphere and comfort and emotional tone.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“She's just amazing, but you know, I had to really think outside. Everybody was like, You're crazy. Why are you hiring this former magazine editor? to lead up your membership and, you know, she doesn't understand hospitality. She understands it better than anybody. I mean, she's also a brilliant, brilliant woman and can adapt to anything. But, you know, it's just getting harder. And I've been forced to think outside the box with people like Gabby. Dimitri is another example of that. I mean, even though he's worked for me for 22 years, everybody was like, no one wants that old school maitre die. I love him. The best. Well, now we do because we realize that the old world ways are so exciting and thrilling. But at the time,”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It's really hard. It's never been this hard. COVID really also changed my industry because people don't want to be, they don't want to actually work from home, which you can't do in hospitality. Hospitality is really an emotional labor. People stay when they feel respected, empowered, and proud of the environment. And that is part of something meaningful. I feel like we still have that. We spend a huge amount of time thinking about culture internally, not just to members, but for staff. And guests feel that immediately when the staff culture is very healthy like ours, but it's very, very hard to do. It's very hard to find good management. I mean, we have some of the greatest people. I mean, Gabby is a great example of this. She's great.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Now, and how that's my strategy. You know, hospitality historically has really You talk about four seasons, or you talk Hilton, all these products, they're all commodities, their rooms are just commodities. And so my job is to do the opposite of that and actually deliver white boxes that you can get everywhere.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I mean, listen, as a hospitality person, I actually appreciated that they don't allow Airbnbs in New York because they really hurt us. And the thing is, you know, Airbnb has all these things that they can do that hotels can't do whether you're a union or a non-union hotel, you know, it's very expensive to run a hotel. And so an Airbnb can deliver something much cheaper and really be putting a lot of people out of work. I wish LA, quite frankly, would do that. But hospitality used to be much more transactional, you know, great food, beautiful design, good service. Those things still matter enormously. But today people are, the way to succeed in hospitality is to emotionally connect. And again, it's like back to this whole idea of the product having a soul, that is to me how it's different.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Everyone must have one. And they're, you know, they're all kind of create buzz and they can create, it's easy to create buzz. I mean, anybody can create buzz. But to create that emotional attachment and long-term loyalty is what's difficult. And so that, I think, is what they have to be focused on.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I think, I mean, it depends. I think most cities are still very underserved when it comes to real community and gathering spaces. I mean, our friend Morgan Sachs is opening in Jacksonvale, Florida. And I think that's really cool. I think we're going to see a lot more of that. That said, I do think there are too many clubs being created as social scenes or real estate products. Instead of being created as communities, and that's a mistake that we're seeing, and I think we're going to see those places fail.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Really respect that. And so I don't want, you know, again, I just don't, I'd rather have a few truly exceptional clubs with soul than hundreds that feel efficient but emotionally empty.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That is a great question. I think scaling soul absolutely are at odds with each other. And most hospitality brands lose their soul because growth becomes a strategy instead of the consequence. The way you protect soul is through restraint, curation, and standards. We're very intentional about not expanding too quickly. Culture is fragile. I don't think exclusivity comes from price alone. It comes from emotional consistency. And members have to feel the same trust and intimacy and discretion and atmosphere. And so I think, you know, staying focused on that is the way you can scale systems, but you can't scale taste. And, you know, back to my Hermes, I'm obsessed with Hermes. Hermes is valuable because they protected the standards, not because they maximized distribution.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Perfect, like corporate person, but I really have no much of this is like, I'm almost like an artist. Like I have to see the place. And then I kind of am like, I think we should turn this into a club. I never am like, okay, I want to open in Washington, D.C. So I start like, you know, spending months in DC looking at spaces. It just, these things kind of like hit me. Yeah, I can't think of one.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“You know, for me, right now, I'm more focused on this transaction and finding a new partner that I haven't really been because I just opened Santa Monica and I just opened West Village. I haven't really been Uber focused on where the Nextclub is. I have these fantasies of doing one in Paris. I love me and my husband, we take French lessons. We love Francophiles. And so a lot of it also depends on the actual physical space that I see. So much of it, people think I'm this.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Itself becomes a strategy or go public. What makes these environments work is the coax or the atmosphere and trust. And so it's fragile. I mean, I can't do like a cut and paste and just copy these. And I'm really trying to build institutions, not trends. So I can only do a few of these. I mean, you know, if I did two or three more in the next seven years, I'd say that's a lot. And as I say, it's like I don't want these to be hot. I want places to feel like they've been there forever and will be there forever.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“60% return, which is great for an 18-month investment to make 60% return. I've never, you know, you're lucky if you make 8% a year. And I'd like to take them all out. And he did. And then he also helped me grow because, you know, Hannah was able when I found the Jane Hotel. Help finance that.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I mean, essentially what happened was I had to put together, it really was tough, I couldn't get investors. I had to really cobble investments together like $50,000 here. And then that loan that I got was a construction loan that we use celebrities to get us. And then right before I opened is when I found my current investor, which is his company Ohana, and there's a guy named Franco Famularo, who works at OHANA, who's very smart. And he had been speaking to me actually about the Sunsa Tower. And he said, what's going on with that private club? And I said, oh, I had to cobble together. I'm about to open. He said, well, can I see it? And he came and saw it. And he said, I'd like to take out all your investors. They'd only been in the investment for like 18 months. He said, I'll give them like a...”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It was really hard. I would try to, you know, there were moments in the day, like especially early in the morning, when they usually weren't out, although sometimes they would still be coming off of one of their benders. So I would try to do the tours at like eight in the morning or 9 in the morning. It was really hard. It was really hard. But even more than just like seeing the people there, The place was such, it was like a rundown motel. Now it's this incredibly glamorous, beautiful place that you feel like it's been there forever and will be there forever.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“My husband is a man named John Goldwyn, whose grandfather was Sam Goldwyn, and he ran Paramount Pictures for 13 years. He was vice chairman. He's also a producer. He produces many shows and movies. He's a brilliant person in the industry and obviously very connected.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I went to like 52 lenders and they all said no because they'd go there and they'd be really kind of like because no one has a vision. No one can see and so my husband said to me, you know what? We're going to, I'm going to show you how like we get a movie made. Invite your banker, invite his wife, and we're going to invite some movie stars to dinner and you're going to get that loan. And he was right. It happened. So that's, I had to kind of like your husband.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It was so hard. Well, first of all, even as a gay man, it was hard for me to go there because there was like, it was also very druggy and it was just this weird, crazy place. They were having sex out in the open. Nothing wrong with that, but it was very hard to get like a buttoned up investor or banker because I didn't own it yet. I was just in escrow. So I couldn't get investors. In fact, this is a very funny story.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's so great. I'm trying to think. I don't think there was any one thing, but he really taught me how to look for value. So if you look at my career, everything I did, when I bought the Sunset, you know, no one believes this. They couldn't give the Sunset Tower away. It was called the Argyll Hotel. It was a dump. I remember. They kept on lowering the price. And I bought it for like $18 million. And that's a lot of money. But when you think about it to buy a property like that, and he said, always find value where no one else can.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Honestly, so much of my life and career has been luck. I mean, even the fact that I'm in private clubs right now, I wish I could have said, like, I knew AI was coming and I knew social media was coming and I knew how important these clubs were going to be. It's just, I'm lucky. I was always very dyslexic growing up. I never thought I'd own a hotel or hotels or private clubs. And so I just got really lucky. This guy, Bernard Goldberg, was my mentor, just taught me everything I knew. And he was a pioneer in the boutique hotel industry in the 90s. It was really just him and Ian Shaker.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It was really fascinating to me, and it made total sense to me, and it really reminded me of my business. And they're meeting boyfriends and girlfriends or whatever at church. They're not even religious. I mean, I always say like, you know, we do all these programming events. We'll have like a ceramic painting class. And at first, I would say like, who wants to learn how to paint ceramics? No one is, I mean, they're not really going for the ceramic painting. They're going to meet other people to meet friends, to know. So I think, you know. Just back to your thing about the wealthy, it's like historically private clubs were about status and access. And I think today they're more about emotional comfort and psychological self-safety.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's exactly. I was just going to say churches are on the road. I mean, did you see that article? I think it was in the son is like.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, and I would say partially, yes, luxury clubs obviously require financial means. But I think the deeper desire they're responding to is universal. I just can't tell you enough how much people want belonging, trust, intimacy, familiarity, and human connection. Wealth just allows you to execute those things at a very high level. There could be clubs that are not as expensive that deliver the same thing. Part of what my experience is is an elevated experience, so it is going to cost me money and then I have to charge money in return to deliver that. But like your hardware store example, if your hardware store wanted to charge $10 a month to come there and have a beer one day a week or something, that might be a club that's super cool because it's a club of common interests. I mean, that would be like. What I was describing as a niche.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“We would obviously love you to be a member, but I I feel like members Somebody wants to be a member, they figure out how to apply. And you have to know a member to be nominated. No, I get it.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“I actually have a line that I cut and paste like when people will send me an email or text because what's unfortunate is like knowing me doesn't necessarily help. It has to be It's a committee of people, and they do spend a lot of time on this, so I never want to be like that dictator that overrules the committee's decisions. And I always say it's really not you. It has more to do with like your age, your occupation, all these things, because we have enough of these people that are in your category. And that's really how I answer that. curating that emotional tone as much as we're curating membership.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“The organizing principle to us is really human chemistry. It's like trying to create an environment of interesting socially additive people who value discretion and curiosity and creativity and connection. The community is really organized around a shared desire for a certain kind of atmosphere that's less performative, more intimate, more thoughtful, more human. organized around status or profession or any of that stuff. It's really organized around energy and behavior. And I think that's why we succeed. And are desirable to so many people.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“And they want to go out, so maybe they're about to sell their business to someone and they don't want people talking about everything's so public now and transactional crazy.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But it's also like, you know, It also pertains to like business. And I'll just say this because it was written about extensively. When Ted Sorandos and Steven Spielberg were having this big war in Hollywood because Steven Spielberg was saying, you are not making movies because they're not on big screens, even if they're on big screen for a week. It was a very public war. And their makeup dinner, the first time they actually spoke, it was like in the Hollywood Reporter, it was the New York Times. They went to dinner at the San Josende as they should because they knew that nobody would take photos or talk about it. Unfortunately, there was a guest of a member who was a publicist who called page six and leaked it to them. And we figured this out and we kicked out the guest.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, I mean, I think absolutely. I mean, to your point about celebrities, I mean, they feel it intensely because, you know, fame follows them everywhere. And honestly, almost everyone feels some version of this now. Social media has turned life into performance. And so people don't live anymore. And I think that these spaces, one of the things we're providing or trying to is like a space where they can live again and they don't have to be scared of a photo being taken of them. I mean, I joke like, you know, you want to be able to bring your wife one night and then your girlfriend or boyfriend or whatever the next night. And nobody can talk about it. Nobody can take a photo. I mean, there's no places like that. And I'm not saying it's right to have a boyfriend or a girlfriend if you have a wife. We don't judge on this.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's for everyone. We created a place where people can really exhale. The product isn't secrecy, it's psychological safety. And I think that's also like what people don't understand. Modern life is so performative. I mean, I don't look at Instagram that much, but it's like when I look on Instagram, I'm like, why are they filming their avocado toast? Like, I don't care about their avocado toast. People talk.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That's exactly what we're trying to do. I mean, the sticker is really just a reminder of this is the time to leave the digital world behind. We don't allow phone calls. We don't allow photos. I wish I could say no texting and Googling and everything. I don't because people are like, well, my child, I need to know if my child at home, which I understand, or I have an important thing happening at work I might need to hear from my partner or whatever. I think what one of the few places where it is like, you know, you're forced to talk to people and live and connect privacy changes human behavior. The second people feel watched or filmed, they stop being themselves and start performing. And so, you know, conversation changes. Vulnerability disappears and spontaneity disappears. Creativity drops.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Trying to create the greatest dinner party every day and every night. So that's how you think about it. Like, well, who are you going to invite to your wedding and who are you going to invite to that list? And I mean, look, the thing, the boundaries piece of it, which I think you were alluding to, like every meaningful community has boundaries. I mean, universities do, churches do, neighborhoods do. The real question is whether the culture inside of those boundaries creates something valuable and human, which is what my job is to deliver.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“No, but we like quirky. Yes. I mean, and, you know, I hate to use this word because it's being overused, but diversity is important. And I don't just mean racial diversity, but we will not accept a man if we don't accept a woman. Like sexual diversity, I was so excited when the first trans person applied. And we have a few trans people in all the clubs. And then also occupational diversity. So one of the things that happened in Los Angeles that we had to kind of slow down was there were just too many people in the entertainment industry applying. In New York, there were too many people from the banking industry applying. And age diversity. You know, some clubs focus on only young people. I always say the best party is a wedding. And it has all three generations”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“See, that's a great answer. I was going to give another example, some little restaurant in Uruguay. Somebody took their grandmother and now she's no longer, you know, like whatever, it tells you a lot about a person when they enter that question.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Well, because if you get somebody that's like, I love club saint in Santrape, we're kind of like, that's not the right person for this club. And it kind of catches them off guard because Sin-Conc may be their favorite restaurant. Nothing against St. Gonzalez Sangha. It's a great restaurant. It's just not my thing. Very expensive. And it's just not, you know.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“So there's an application. Well, the greatest question on the application I have to admit, I mean, I feel like I'm going to ruin it. We're going to need to find another one after everybody hears this. The best question is, what's your favorite restaurant and why? And it says so much about a person. So we ask other more traditional questions, like, please tell us who you are. We also have a great question where we say, you know, are you single? And if not, please tell us about you're the person who shows a picture. That also tells a lot about them. But the restaurant piece.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“But I think that back to my Hermes analogy, that's part of the quality that we're trying to deliver. So unlike Hermes where the product is maybe stitching in leather, for us, this is part of our product. And it's really, we have to be really tough about it.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“That he's never going to get a Yeah, I mean, we're definitely not looking for the richest people. We're looking for people who make the environment better. And it's really hilarious because people are always saying, oh my God, he's a billionaire. Why don't you take them? And it's like, no, who cares if he's a billionaire? I mean, no one's going to walk in and say, and by the way, that just doesn't make them interesting. It's just another ricks white guy, really, at the end of the day. So I think what matters is curiosity matters, kindness matters, creativity matters, social intelligence matters, energy. We want people that are additive to the atmosphere. The mistake people make is assuming exclusivity means wealth. Wealth alone is not very interesting. And we're trying to create a chemistry in the room. And so I think that, you know, we're curating behavior and culture as much as demographics. It's hard to do. I mean, you know, there is a whole process and there's a committee.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“It's like your second home almost. And I think that it also comes down to the quality of the COB members. And we're really tough about that.”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT
“Yeah, I mean, there are copycats. I mean, look, I can only talk about my niche, which is pretty specific. I mean, this is going to sound like a little haughty, but I always, well, my aspiration and when I like talk to the people that I work with is I want to be the Hermes of Clubs. I don't necessarily want to have the most clubs or the coolest clubs, but I do want to have the best ones. And that means that they're very individual in each location. They're very specific to that location. They're part of a fabric of the community of that location. I don't want them to be hot where it's like, you know, the Kardashians are there every night or whatever. It should feel like it's...”
2026-05-14 · On with Kara Swisher · Peek Inside the Club You Can't Join, with Jeff Klein · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT