An anonymous benefactor who generously contributed $130 million to the Defense Department to help fund military salaries during the government shutdown has been identified as billionaire Timothy Mellon, according to The New York Times.
Mellon, an 83-year-old from Saratoga, Wyoming, is known for his substantial donations to former President Donald Trump and various Republican organizations over recent years.
In remarks to reporters at the White House on Thursday, Trump praised the unnamed donor, referring to him as a “friend” who prefers to remain out of the spotlight. “That’s what I call a patriot,” the president remarked.
Despite the report by The Times, neither the White House nor the Pentagon has publicly confirmed Mellon as the benefactor. When The Hill sought comment from the Pentagon, they were directed to the White House instead.
Here’s a closer look at the billionaire and the significance of his reported donation:
Here’s what to know about the billionaire and his reported donation:
History of political donations
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings, Mellon donated nearly $2 million to MAGA Inc., a super PAC that supports the president, in late April.
He also donated $1 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC dedicated to getting Republicans elected to Congress, in early March.
Mellon, according to the FEC, first donated to Trump’s campaign in September 2016, less than two months before he defeated Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in his first White House run. He also donated $140 million to MAGA Inc. last year and gave $2,900 to Vice President JD Vance’s initial Senate run in 2021.
In 2023 and 2024, Mellon donated over $25 million to a super PAC aligned with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign. He also donated $2,800 to National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard’s Democratic presidential campaign in 2019.
Comes from famous family
The son of Paul Mellon and Mary Conover Brown, Mellon is an heir to his family’s fortune. He is the great-grandson of Thomas Mellon, the founder of Mellon Bank, and the grandson of former Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, who faced an impeachment inquiry in 1932 amid allegations of corruption.
As of February 2024, the Mellon family’s net worth is $14.1 billion, according to Forbes.
The Washington Post reported in 2020 that Mellon, in his 2015 self-published autobiography, called the social safety net “Slavery Redux” and said Black Americans were “even more belligerent” after such programs were expanded in the 1960s and 1970s.
In an interview with the New York Times later that year, Mellon deflected when asked about his financial support for Trump.
“I’ll contribute to [Trump] or [former President Joe] Biden or whoever I want to,” he told the outlet. “I don’t have to say why.”
Donation raises legal questions
The $130 million donation, according to chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell, was accepted under the department’s “general gift acceptance authority.”
“The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of Service members’ salaries and benefits,” Parnell told The Hill in an emailed statement Friday.
Over 1.3 million active-duty personnel are scheduled to receive paychecks on Friday. Ahead of troops’ Oct. 15 payday, Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to use $8 billion in Pentagon research, development, test and evaluation funds to compensate service members.
The mid-month payments, though, cost roughly $6.5 billion. That leaves only $1.5 billion left over for Friday’s paychecks, which are expected to cost between $6 billion and $7 billion, American Enterprise Institute senior fellow Todd Harrison told The Hill earlier this month.
The $130 million donation, then, would net out to roughly $50 per troop this pay cycle, based on the Oct. 15 totals.
But the donation raises legal questions.
According to the Antideficiency Act, federal agencies are barred from “obligating or expending federal funds in advance or in excess of an appropriation, and from accepting voluntary services.” The act requires agency heads to report violations to the president and Congress.
