Billionaire Trump donor’s relatives slam support for 'antidemocratic causes'

18 September 2024

The Mellons have been one of Pennsylvania's wealthiest families since the 19th Century. The financial dynasty has a history of supporting conservative economic policies: after Thomas Mellon founded Mellon Bank in 1870, his son Andrew W. Mellon served as treasury secretary under Republican Presidents Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover.

In 2024, 81-year-old billionaire Timothy Mellon — who is Andrew W. Mellon's grandson and Thomas Mellon's great grandson — has supported GOP presidential nominee via a $50 million donation to a pro-Trump PAC (political action committee).

But according to Vanity Fair's James Reginato, not everyone in the Mellon family is on board with Timothy Mellon's involvement in MAGA politics.

"In the 2020 cycle," Reginato explains in an article published on September 18, "his contributions to conservative candidates and causes totaled $70 million, including $20 million to Donald Trump. And since the start of 2022, he has poured in more than $125 million to Make America Great Again, the Trump-affiliated super PAC, and $25 million to American Values 2024, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s super PAC. Tim Mellon is the most consequential megadonor of this contentious election, and the least known."

After the $50 million donation, economist Robert Reich argued that Timothy Mellon made a strong case for a "wealth tax," describing Andrew W. Mellon as "an early prophet of trickle-down economics" back in the 1920s. And Reich wasn't the first person to mention the Mellons in connection with conservative economics. Back in 1975, the iconic R&B group The O'Jays recorded a song for Philadelphia International Records called "Rich Get Richer" — which addressed income inequality in the U.S. and referenced "the Mellons, the Gettys, the Duponts, the Rockefellers."

Reginato adds, "When Tim first reached out to MAGA world to offer his largesse, they had to research him. Reportedly, he has little interest in meeting candidates or attending events, and he communicates with some by fax."

Although Timothy Mellon declined to be interviewed for Reginato's article, some of his relatives were willing to talk to Vanity Fair.

John W. Warner IV, Timothy Mellon's nephew, told the publication, "I'm just as surprised as you are about my uncle coming out. I couldn't believe he was mentioned in the press. He's the most private Mellon there is. He's been very quiet up until now."

A cousin of Warner IV, quoted anonymously, was critical of the MAGA movement.

The cousin told Vanity Fair, "My generation, and the younger generation, is unhappy about his very public support of what we think of as antidemocratic causes and candidates. Again and again, I've heard dismay about him going in this direction. One of the cousins said it just makes her sick."

Another cousin in the Mellon family said of Timothy Mellon, "He’'s always been a contrarian — that’s the only thing I can think of that might have gotten him in this direction, (which) does not reflect our values."

Read James Reginato's full article for Vanity Fair at this link.

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