Gentlemen's club

rdf:langString Gentlemen's club

rdf:langString The circulation of elites in America and the assimilation of new men of power and influence into the upper class takes place primarily through the medium of urban clubdom. Aristocracy of birth is replaced by an aristocracy of ballot. Frederick Lewis Allen showed how this process operated in the case of the nine "Lords of Creation" who were listed in the New York Social Register as of 1905: ‘The nine men who were listed [in the Social Register] were recorded as belonging to 9.4 clubs apiece,’ wrote Allen. ‘Though only two of them, Morgan and Vanderbilt, belonged to the Knickerbocker Club [indeed, both already belonged to old prominent families], Stillman and Harriman joined these two in the membership of the almost equally fashionable Union Club; Baker joined these four in the membership of the Metropolitan Club ; John D. Rockefeller, William Rockefeller, and Rogers, along with Morgan and Baker were listed as members of the Union League Club ; seven of the group belonged to the New York Yacht Club. Morgan belonged to nineteen clubs in all; Vanderbilt, to fifteen; Harriman, to fourteen.’ Allen then goes on to show how the descendants of these financial giants were assimilated into the upper class: ‘By way of footnote, it may be added that although in that year [1905] only two of our ten financiers belonged to the Knickerbocker Club, in 1933 the grandsons of six of them did. The following progress is characteristic: John D. Rockefeller, Union League Club; John D. Rockefeller, Jr., University Club; John D. Rockefeller 3rd, Knickerbocker Club. Thus is the American aristocracy recruited.'

rdf:langString The most exclusive social clubs are in the oldest cities – Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. Others, which are well respected, have developed in such major cities as Pittsburgh, Chicago, and San Francisco. The most exclusive social clubs are two in New York City – the Links and the Knickerbocker " "Personal wealth has never been the sole basis for attaining membership in exclusive clubs. The individual and family must meet the admissions committee’s standards for values and behavior. Old money prevails over new money as the Rockefeller family experience suggests. John D. Rockefeller, the family founder and the nation’s first billionaire, joined the Union League Club, a fairly respectable but not top-level club; John D. Rockefeller, Jr., belonged to the University Club, a step up from his father; and finally his son John D. Rockefeller, III, reached the pinnacle with his acceptance into the Knickerbocker Club .

rdf:langString A gentlemen's club is a private social club of a type originally set up by men from Britain's upper classes in the 18th and succeeding centuries. Many countries outside Britain have prominent gentlemen's clubs, mostly those associated with the British Empire, in particular, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. There are also many clubs in major American cities. A gentleman's club typically contains a formal dining room, a bar, a library, a billiards room and one or more parlours for reading, gaming or socializing. Many clubs also contain guest rooms and fitness amenities. Some are associated mainly with sports and regularly hold other events such as formal dining.