Former US President Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign has been significantly bolstered by a $50 million (£39.5 million) contribution from conservative billionaire Timothy Mellon, according to a federal filing disclosed on Thursday.
The Super Political Action Committee (Super-PAC) named “MAGA Inc” reported to the Federal Election Commission that it received over $68 million from donors last month. Timothy Mellon, heir to the Pittsburgh-based Mellon banking family, was identified as the source of $50 million of that total.
In addition to Mellon’s contribution, billionaires Liz and Dick Uihlein donated $10 million. US media reported that Mellon made his donation the day after Trump was convicted on 34 charges of falsifying business records in the New York hush-money trial.
Mellon has also been a major donor to independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., contributing at least $20 million to the pro-Kennedy Super-PAC, American Values.
Super-PACs, or independent political action committees, can raise unlimited funds to support election candidates. Mellon’s donation has enabled Trump’s allies to outspend those supporting President Joe Biden in recent weeks.
Timothy Mellon, who resides in Wyoming and is seldom photographed, is an amateur pilot and has investments in transport-related companies. The Mellon family’s net worth is estimated by Forbes to be around $14.1 billion.
In a related development, Reuters reported that billionaire Mike Bloomberg has donated nearly $20 million to Biden-supporting Super-PACs, with $19 million going to an independent pro-Biden group called Future Forward (FF PAC) and $900,000 to the Biden Victory Fund, a coalition of the Biden campaign and Democratic Party committees.
The Biden campaign has yet to comment on these donations. Meanwhile, the pro-Kennedy Super-PAC reported a significantly smaller intake of around $280,000 last month, with no additional funds from Mellon.
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