Report says this mysterious billionaire and top Trump supporter is behind a $130 million donation to pay troops during the government shutdown.

The very private billionaire is a major Republican supporter and contributed $125 million to the Make America Great Again political action committee that supported Donald Trump during his presidential bid last year.

Trump announced the anonymous donation on Thursday, refusing to name the donor, saying only that this person was a “patriot” and friend.

When asked about Mellon on Friday, Trump declined to identify him as the donor while speaking with reporters. He said that person was a “great American citizen” and a “great man.”

“He doesn’t want publicity,” Trump said. The times. “He prefers to remain anonymous which is unusual in the world I come from, and in politics, you want your name mentioned.”

The Pentagon said The times The donation was accepted under the “General Authority for Accepting Gifts.”

But the donation could be a violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act, which bars federal agencies from spending more money than Congress allows or from using unpaid aid that Congress has not approved.

The Mellon Family Foundation did not respond luckHe asked for comment, and the attempts he made times Reaching Melon was unsuccessful.

Mellon fortune

Mellon founded the now-defunct railroad company Guilford Transportation Industries in 1981, however Much of his wealth Andrew is descended from his grandfather, Andrew, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1921 to 1932. During this time, Andrew successfully campaigned for the removal of estate taxes so that he could leave his fortune to his heirs.

Prior to his work at the Treasury, Andrew made his fortune in banking, manufacturing and investing in early-stage companies.

The Mellon family has been named one of the richest families in America before Forbes Last year, their combined net worth is just over $14 billion.

Although Timothy Mellon’s share of this wealth is not well understood, he has said that his net worth was approximately $700 million in 2014. London times Estimated to be approx 1 billion dollars Last year, and one of his relatives He said Vanity gallery It was closer to $4.2 billion, adding that Mellon didn’t want people to know his real net worth.

Between 1996 and 2018, Mellon donated approximately $350,000 to political causes. According to to Wall Street Journal. But during the 2020 election, his political spending exploded, donating $60 million to Republican candidates, including $20 million to Trump.

In the 2024 cycle, Mellon has donated a total of $165 million, according to the campaign finance tracker. Open secrets. This included $25 million to the “American Values ​​2024” political action committee that supported the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In Mellon’s self-published autobiography panam. captain As far back as 2015, Kennedy was quoted as saying: “Tim Mellon is an independent businessman who embodies the most admirable qualities of what Franklin Roosevelt called ‘American industrial genius.’”

Government shutdown

Mellon’s donation comes as Trump has promised to pay military service members, immigration agents and law enforcement officials despite not having lawmakers agree to pay them.

He signed an executive order this month ordering the Pentagon to use portions of research and development funds to cover soldiers’ salaries.

670,000 workers were furloughed, according to… Center for Partisan Policya Washington-based think tank. About 730,000 work without pay.

As the shutdown continues into its third week, thousands of federal employees also lost their first paycheck this week.