Trump campaign gets $50m boost from a single donor.
The conservative billionaire Timothy Mellon donated $50 million (£39.5 million) to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, according to a federal filing on Thursday.
The Federal Election Commission was informed by the Super-Pac fund known as “MAGA Inc.” that it received contributions totaling over $68 million in the previous month.
According to Reuters, Mr. Mellon, a banking family heir from Pittsburgh, contributed $50 million. Rich couple Dick and Liz Uihlein contributed an additional $10 million.
According to US media, Mr. Mellon donated the donation the day following Trump’s conviction in his New York hush-money trial on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Additionally, Mr. Mellon has contributed at least $20 million to the Kennedy Super-Pac American Values, an independent presidential candidate, making him the largest contributor to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Super-Pacs are independent “political action committees” that can raise unlimited amounts of money to support an election candidate.
The Mellon donation has helped pro-Trump allies outspend US President Joe Biden’s allies on campaigning in recent weeks.
Mr 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 around $14.1bn.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that billionaire Mike Bloomberg has given nearly $20m to Biden-supporting Super-Pacs.
Mr Bloomberg’s contribution included $19m to an independent pro-Biden group known as Future Forward or FF PAC.
A further $900,000 was given to the Biden Victory Fund, which is an amalgamation of the Biden campaign and Democratic Party committees.
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Thursday, the pro-Kennedy Super-Pac reported that it took in only around $280,000 last month, with none of it coming from Mr Mellon.
