Trump campaign given $50m by single donor
Donald Trump's campaign outraised rival Joe Biden's last month - GETTY IMAGES
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign received a single donation of $50 million (£39.5 million) from a conservative billionaire a day after he was convicted in his hush money trial.
Timothy Mellon – an heir to the Mellon banking family from Pittsburgh, who Forbes estimates to be worth about $14.5 billion – made what is believed to be one of the largest donations to a campaign in American history.
His contribution to the super PAC known as ‘MAGA Inc’ was part of $68 million worth of donations to the organisation last month.
It came a day after Mr Trump was found guilty on 34 charges of falsifying business records in his New York hush-money trial, and the donation helped Mr Trump outraise President Joe Biden by more than $60 million last month.
Another $10 million came from billionaires Liz and Dick Uihlein, who founded the Uline shipping and packaging company.
Mr Mellon, who lives in Wyoming and is rarely seen in public, has also been the biggest donor to independent Robert F Kennedy Jnr, giving one of his super PACs at least $20 million.
The Trump campaign received more than $60 million in donations after his conviction - GETTY IMAGES
Mr Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee together raised a robust $85 million in May and reported $212 million in the bank at the end of the month.
The strong showing does not include roughly $40 million raised by Mr Biden and his top surrogates in recent days — or a separate $20 million donation from former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to pro-Biden groups.
Still, Mr Trump’s fundraising, for one month at least, seemed to dwarf Mr Biden’s.
The Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee said it raised a jaw-dropping $141 million in May, including tens of millions donated immediately after Trump was convicted.
Mr Trump’s campaign declined to report how much money it had in the bank at the end of May, prompting Mr Biden’s campaign to question whether the groups were still spending heavily to cover Trump’s legal fees.
Earlier this month the former president’s campaign raised about $3 million at an event in London hosted by former Neighbours star Holly Valance and attended by Donald Trump Jnr. Organisers claimed it was the biggest Republican fundraiser outside the US.
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