WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Conservative billionaire Timothy Mellon, an heir of the Pittsburgh-based Mellon banking family, gave another $50 million last month to a super PAC supporting Republican Donald Trump's presidential bid, according to a federal disclosure filed on Tuesday.
The super PAC, known as MAGA Inc, has been ramping up outlays on television ads supporting Trump's candidacy and attacking Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
MAGA Inc disclosed in a filing to the Federal Election Commission that it took in more than $54 million from donors last month, with most of the money coming from Mellon. Mellon has given MAGA Inc at least $115 million this year, including a $50 million contribution in May, disclosures show.
Mellon, who lives in Wyoming and is rarely photographed, is an amateur pilot who has invested in and led transport-related companies. Forbes estimates that the Mellon family is worth some $14.1 billion.
A reclusive Republican megadonor gave $50 million to a pro-Trump super PAC in July, following two other massive donations to boost the former president this cycle.
Timothy Mellon, a longtime GOP donor and heir to the Mellon banking fortune, has now given $115 million to the group, Make America Great Again Inc., since the start of 2023. That makes him by far the largest donor to the super PACs backing Donald Trump’s candidacy this cycle.
Mellon also previously gave $25 million to a super PAC backing Democrat-turned-independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential bid over five separate donations dating back to 2023. His last donation to that super PAC was in April.
A MAGA Inc. filing Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission showed the new donation from Mellon was dated July 15, less than a week before President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination.
That single huge donation accounted for more than 90 percent of the funds that MAGA Inc. raised in July and will help the super PAC as it boosts Trump and attacks Harris in swing states. MAGA Inc. recently launched a new $100 million ad blitz ahead of Labor Day that focuses on immigration and Harris’ record as a prosecutor.
Trump's campaign has suggested those two issues are some of the most effective ways to move independent voters.
— CutC by Yahoo.com
