The conservative donor has already donated more than $100 million to political causes in the 2024 election cycle.
The largest donor of the 2024 election cycle is also, arguably, the most mysterious.
Since the beginning of 2023, no one has given more to political causes than Timothy Mellon. Through the first five months of 2024, Mr. Mellon gave more than $115 million to various Republican candidates for federal office and conservative causes.
Brendan Glavin, deputy research director at money-in-politics watchdog OpenSecrets, told The Epoch Times what makes Mr. Mellon’s millions so odd is the apparent lack of desire for attention attached to the gifts.
“When you are making these contributions … it gives you access, it makes you a player,” Mr. Glavin said of the typical so-called megadonor. “It creates a situation where you know people are going to cater to you because they want your money.”
Despite this, Mr. Mellon can only be found in donor records.
The recipients of his money and his associates often decline to speak about the 81-year-old investor, who apparently lives close to Saratoga, Wyoming. He’s hard to reach. Even biographers writing about his influential family can’t get a word from him.
The Epoch Times attempted to reach Mr. Mellon through his publisher, a public relations firm who represented him in the past, associates who said they read his book, the Mellon family foundation, and through organizations he regularly supports.
Old Money
Timothy Mellon is an heir to the Mellon family fortune. Forbes estimates the entire group of descendants of Irish immigrant Thomas Mellon is worth more than $14.1 billion.
The family’s wealth dates back to the 19th century and its name is attached to companies such as The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. and institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University. Timothy Mellon’s grandfather, Andrew Mellon, and his father, Paul Mellon, were instrumental in the foundation of the National Gallery of Art in Washington.
As the U.S. treasury secretary, Andrew Mellon served from 1921 to 1932 under Republican Presidents Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover.
