Topline
Billionaire Trump megadonor Timothy Mellon is the benefactor who gave $130 million to help the federal government pay military members during the shutdown, The New York Times reported Saturday, citing two anonymous sources.
Timothy Mellon, seen outside an inspection train during a tour of the property in 1981. Exact date and location unknown. (AP photo)
Associated press
Key facts
The Pentagon said Friday it accepted the money to ensure the military doesn’t miss out on pay during the government shutdown.
Trump on Thursday first revealed a “friend” who provided the donation, but said the person wanted to remain anonymous and told reporters on Friday “he doesn’t want publicity.”
Forbes has reached out to Mellon for comment.
The New York Times reported Mellon and his representatives could not be reached for comment.
The Pentagon accepted the donation “under its general gift acceptance authority,” although some lawmakers and experts have questioned its legality under the Antideficiency Act, which prevents the federal government from spending money not appropriated by Congress.
Forbes rating
We estimate that the Mellon family is worth $14.1 billion. Forbes estimated last July that Mellon’s individual net worth is close to $1 billion, although in an email to Forbes at the time he denied that he was a billionaire, writing: “never was, never will be.”
Big number
$50 million. That’s how much Mellon donated to the pro-Trump super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., last June, one of the largest political donations on record. He has spent more than $165 million supporting Republicans in the 2024 election cycle, including a $25 million donation to Trump. OpenSecrets.
Important background
Mellon is the heir to the Mellon family’s banking fortune and the railroad magnate. Mellon, 83, is a reclusive figure who spends most of his time at his ranch in Wyoming, he told Bloomberg in a rare 2020 interview. The great-grandson of banker Thomas Mellon and grandson of former Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, he made his first major political donation — $10 million — to a GOP super PAC in 2018, donating $ 50 million to Trump in May last year, the day after Trump’s silence. money judgment in New York. He also supported state candidates, including Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the border wall and other Republican Party-backed initiatives.
Read more
Trump ‘friend’ donates $130 million to help pay for military during shutdown (Forbes)
The True Story of Trump’s $75 Million Backer (Forbes)
Who is Timothy Mellon? Trump’s biggest donor is a mysterious billionaire banker who paid $53 million for the border wall. (Forbes)
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