Mystery donor who gave Trump $130M to pay military is unmasked as banking heir with ties to RFK
Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire who has donated tens of millions of dollars to support past Trump campaigns, is reportedly the anonymous donor who gave the government $130 million to help pay troops during the ongoing government shutdown.
Mellon, a railroad magnate and heir to a prominent banking and political family, has not publicly announced any donation.
President Trump revealed the donation Thursday, describing it as coming from a “friend” and “patriot.”
“He doesn’t really want the recognition,” Trump said at a roundtable event.
The Independent has contacted a phone number and email associated with Mellon in public records for comment.
The White House declined to comment, and The Independent has contacted the Defense and Treasury Departments for comment.
The Pentagon confirmed the anonymous donation Friday, saying it had accepted the funds under its “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,” said Sean Parnell, chief spokesman for the Pentagon. “We are grateful for this donor’s assistance after Democrats opted to withhold pay from troops.”
Observers expressed concern the donation may not be legal.
It could run afoul of the Antideficiency Act, which bars federal agencies from spending money in excess of their congressional appropriations or accepting voluntary services.
“This should go without saying, but the American government should be funded by the American people, not anonymous mega-donor friends of the president,” the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington wrote in a statement on X.
“This is not how things should work in a democracy—this raises all sorts of legal and ethical alarms,” the group added.
Mellon, who Forbes estimated last year had a net worth near $1 billion, is among the country’s most prolific donors to Donald Trump and his allies.
During the 2024 campaign, he donated $100 million to groups supporting Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr and contributed to the latter’s presidential campaign.
