Patriotic billionaire heir Timothy Mellon has been identified as the anonymous benefactor who contributed $130 million to cover the salaries of U.S. military personnel during the ongoing federal government shutdown.
As the Democratic-led shutdown enters its third week, hundreds of thousands of federal workers, including servicemen and women, have gone without pay due to congressional deadlock.
The shutdown began after Congress failed to pass appropriations legislation for the 2026 fiscal year. While Republicans pushed a short-term funding bill, Senate Democrats blocked it, citing the need for additional spending on health care and other priorities not included in the proposal. This impasse has produced the second-longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
Essential services continue, but non-essential operations have been suspended, furloughing roughly 750,000 workers daily. Meanwhile, 1.4 million essential employees, including military personnel, are working without pay.
President Donald Trump, while on a trip to Asia, announced the donation earlier this week. He described the mystery donor as a “great gentleman” and “great patriot” who “loves the military and loves the country” but wished to remain anonymous—a rarity in today’s media-driven world.
“He doesn’t want publicity,” Trump said. “He prefers that his name not be mentioned, which is pretty unusual in the world I come from, and in the world of politics, you want your name mentioned.”
Trump emphasized that the funds are intended solely to cover service members’ salaries and benefits, stepping in where Congress has failed.
The donor’s identity was first revealed by The New York Times: 83-year-old Timothy Mellon, grandson of legendary U.S. Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon, who served from 1921 to 1932 and amassed a fortune in banking and industry before the Great Depression.
The Mellon family is estimated to be worth $14 billion, with Timothy living quietly in Wyoming. A longtime supporter of conservative causes, Mellon previously donated $50 million to the pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again shortly after Trump’s 2024 conviction in a New York fraud case.
The Pentagon has accepted Mellon’s donation but cautioned that the Antideficiency Act may limit its use, as federal agencies are legally barred from spending unappropriated funds during a shutdown.
“The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of service members’ salaries and benefits,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told The Times.