The Union Club
101 East 69th Street, New York
212-734-5400
Wall Streeters and banking executives belong to this historic club, where members get together for lunch or play on the club’s squash courts. It is America’s oldest private social club, founded in 1836, and remains exclusive, with about 1,300 members. Fees reportedly start at $5,000, and annual dues are determined by age and residency.

Knickerbocker Club
2 East 62nd Street, New York
212-838-6700
Astors, Rockefellers, and Roosevelts have been members at this prestigious club, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 62nd Street on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. It was founded in 1871 when members of Manhattan’s Union Club began to notice lax admission policies there. These days, the city’s banking and financial crème de la crème gather at the club, housed in a handsome, red-brick building that’s considered one of the best Federal-style buildings in New York.

Groucho Club
45 Dean Street, London
011-44-020-7439-4685, www.thegrouchoclub.com
Members of the media elite and arts-and-entertainment crowd belong to the Groucho Club, which opened in 1985 as an antidote to traditional gentlemen’s clubs (it allows women). Members include musicians, writers, artists, and filmmakers. The club often holds exhibitions for established and up-and-coming artists: works on display include some by Damien Hirst. There are plush rooms for private events as well as overnight accommodation. Membership costs include a reported $2,400 initiation fee plus annual dues of about $1,000.

Soho House
19-21 Old Compton Street, London
011-44-020-7734-5188, www.sohohouse.com
Film, media, public relations, and advertising executives are among the members who frequent this club’s restaurant, three traditional dining rooms, and library. The club has been going strong since it opened 12 years ago in the heart of Soho, the London neighborhood known for chic shops. In summer, the best tables are on the small roof terrace, where members enjoy breakfast and lunch. Unlike the sister New York club, this one has no pool, but the screening room and roof deck can be rented out for private parties or business gatherings. Helen Mirren and Jude Law are regulars at the London locale. Membership costs about $1,200 a year, plus a $300 initiation fee.

The Core Club
66 East 55th Street, New York
212-381-7800, www.thecoreclub.com
For a $50,000 onetime initiation fee (refundable if you decide to cancel), plus $13,500 a year in dues, the Core Club offers members a dazzling array of features, from a fingerprint-scanning entrance to a full-size screening room, as well as its own art gallery, gym, private concierges, and curators. Members rub shoulders with luminaries including real estate developer Aby Rosen and John McEnroe.

The Abaco Club
Winding Bay, Bahamas
011-242-367-0077, www.theabacoclub.com
Members of this private golf and sporting retreat come from the world of Wall Street and business—an international crowd of bankers, doctors, developers, entertainers, film industry figures, sporting notables, and entrepreneurs. The club, developed by British entrepreneur Peter de Savary with the Ritz Carlton, boasts fishing, boating, horse riding, and a European-style spa. Prospective members can come for a visit to try the experience. If they want to come again, they can buy a golf membership for a onetime fee of $85,000 plus $7,500 in annual dues, a social membership for $5,000, or a home or cottage membership for $10,000 to $13,000.

Hong Kong Club
Chater Road and Connaught Road Central, Hong Kong
011-852-2525-8251
The Hong Kong Club is intensely private and prestigious. Unlike many other clubs in Hong Kong, not even the best concierges can arrange for visitors to dine here unless they are members or with a member. Founded in 1946, it is a favorite of international C.E.O.’s and banking tycoons.

The Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle
Dornoch, Sutherland, Scotland
011-44-1862-894-600, www.carnegieclubs.com
This private residential sporting club, set on nearly 9,000 acres in the Scottish highlands and named after the celebrated philanthropist and steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, has an international, jet-setting membership of bankers, lawyers, and hedge fund players. Skibo is renowned for its traditional country sports (there is a resident falconer who gives guided nature walks through the woods around the estate) including hunting and horseback riding. Nonmembers may stay the night once—after that, they must join or they aren’t allowed back. Membership reportedly costs about $8,200 and each night spent on the estate costs about $1,200.

Yongfoo Elite
200 Yongfu Road, Shanghai
011-86-21-5466-2727, www.yongfooelite.com
Expect ancient Chinese paintings, antiques from old Shanghai and Europe, and stylish chandeliers in this exclusive Chinese club. There are three bars: the Crystal Bar, with columns carved from solid crystal, and two separate bars with villa gardens where members can enjoy open-air Chinese opera and other performances. The fashion and arts crowds and Shanghai’s chic set come here. Membership costs $2,650, of which $2,300 will be set aside as an initial deposit toward the member’s expense account.

The Melbourne Club
Collins Street, Melbourne, Australia
011-61-039-653-9749
This exclusive men’s club on Collins Street in central Melbourne is the headquarters for the city’s power brokers. Members are bankers, mining executives, doctors, lawyers, professors, and politicians. It offers accommodations, a library and reading room, elegant dining facilities, and a private courtyard garden for soirees. Annual fees are about $1,300.

The Chicago Club
81 East Van Buren Street, Chicago
312-427-1825, www.thechicagoclub.org
Members of the Chicago Club are C.E.O.’s of big-name Chicago companies and businessmen in insurance and banking. While some say it’s a bit fussy (old portraits of founding members hang in the dining rooms), it is a safe and quiet retreat for members who can eat at the Grill and Lounge or enjoy private dining and drinks at the Library Bar. Membership costs reportedly include a onetime fee of $8,500, plus $4,020 annually in dues.

The Metropolitan Club
1 East 60th Street, Manhattan
212-838-7401
If you want to join the Metropolitan Club, one of the oldest in Manhattan, you must be sponsored by two members. Business executives and families who have been longtime members frequent the club, which has a good restaurant and bar and is known for excellent service. The historic building is furnished with antiques and paintings. Membership costs a reported $5,000 a year.

The Bath Club
5937 Collins Avenue, Miami
305-867-5938
Set on a former avocado plantation, the Miami Club is the oldest private club in the southeastern U.S. and a gathering place for business leaders, ladies who lunch, and A-list celebrities. John Knight, of Knight Ridder Newspapers, is an honorary member. Amenities include private beach and poolside cabanas with bathrooms and flat-screen TVs, as well as tennis courts, a spa, a restaurant, and a grand clubhouse with a ballroom for parties. The initiation fee is $5,000 and monthly fees are $1,000, with an annual minimum of $3,000 for food and beverages.