Wikipedia:List of hoaxes on Wikipedia/The Tarsus Club

The Tarsus Club is a membership only private men’s club attended by some of most influential global leaders in politics and industry. It holds annual meetings at different locations across the globe, usually in the spring months of either April or May. According to the official website, The Tarsus Club “is an annual retreat for global innovators with an emphasis on strengthening global networking, leadership skills and relationship building.”

The Tarsus Club and its annual retreats operate under the Chatham House Rule, which states that participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.

Tarsus Club retreats are closed to the public and the media, and no press releases are issued. Lists of attendees of Tarsus retreats are not made public.

In 2005 the Tarsus Club launched its first official website which lists Murray Chance as the Chairman and President of the Tarsus Club Steering Committee. Murray Chance is the owner and chairman of Chance Investments, a private conglomerate holding company that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies specializing in global investment banking, securities, and financial services.

Though very little is known about the activities that take place at the annual retreats, the gatherings are thought to be similar in nature to other private men’s organizations such as the Bohemian Club in Northern California. Due to the rumored high profile nature of the guests at Tarsus Retreats, some have argued the meetings are more similar in nature to meetings of the Bilderberg Group than the Bohemian Grove. Others have speculated the Tarsus Group is actually more similar to informal policy forming organizations such as prominent but secretive think tanks like The Council on Foreign Relations or the Trilateral Commission.

Mithraic Ritual
Rumors have persisted that, much like the Bohemian Club, the attendees of Tarsus retreats participate in pagan rituals linked to the Mithraic Cult, a mystery religion centered on the god Mithras.