Timothy Mellon, a reclusive heir to a Gilded Age fortune, donated $50 million to a super PAC supporting Donald J. Trump, according to new federal filings, an enormous gift that is among the largest single disclosed contributions ever.
The donation’s impact on the 2024 race is expected to be felt almost immediately. Within days of the contribution, the pro-Trump super PAC, Make America Great Again Inc., said in a memo that it would begin reserving $100 million in advertising through Labor Day.
The group had only $34.5 million on hand at the end of April, and Mr. Mellon’s contribution accounted for much of the nearly $70 million that the super PAC raised in May. On Wednesday and Thursday, the super PAC began reserving $30 million in ads to air in Georgia and Pennsylvania around the Fourth of July holiday.
Mr. Mellon is now the first donor to give $100 million in disclosed federal contributions in this year’s election. He was already the single largest contributor to super PACs supporting both Mr. Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent. Mr. Mellon has previously given $25 million to both.
MAGA Inc has been ramping up outlays on television ads supporting Trump’s bid, with the torrent of spending helping pro-Trump allies outspend Biden’s allies in recent weeks.
MAGA Inc disclosed in a filing to the Federal Election Commission that it took in more than $68 million from donors last month, with most of the money coming from Mellon and another $10 million from billionaires Liz and Dick Uihlein, who founded the Uline shipping and packaging company from their basement in 1980.
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.
The billionaire Winklevoss twins, founders of cryptocurrency company Gemini, said they had donated $1 million in bitcoin to support Trump, but did not specify where the donations were sent.
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