The Mellon family foundations are a group of charitable foundations in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

associated with the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

of Thomas Mellon. The family is estimated to have a net worth of $14.1 billion as of 2024.

Background

The Mellon family is a wealthy and influential family originally of

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, U.S., and its vicinity. In addition to their foundation of

BNY Mellon The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, commonly known as BNY, is an American international financial services company headquartered in New York City. It was established in its current form in July 2007 by the merger of the Bank of New York an ...

, they were also principal investors or majority owners of companies such as

Alcoa Alcoa Corporation (an acronym for "Aluminum Company of America") is an American industrial corporation. It is the world's eighth-largest producer of aluminum. Alcoa conducts operations in 10 countries. Alcoa is a major producer of primary alu ...

Gulf Oil Gulf Oil was a major global oil company in operation from 1901 to 1985. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the Seven Sisters (oil companies), Seven Sisters oil companies. ...

Koppers Koppers is a global chemical and materials company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Its headquarters is an art-deco 1920s skyscraper, the Koppers Tower. Structure Koppers is an integrated global producer of carbon compounds ...

, Westinghouse, with major influence in

Credit Suisse First Boston Credit Suisse First Boston (also known as CSFB and CS First Boston) was the investment banking affiliate of Credit Suisse headquartered in New York. The company was created by the merger of First Boston Corporation and Credit Suisse Group in 1 ...

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

H.J. Heinz Henry John Heinz (October 11, 1844 – May 14, 1919) was an American entrepreneur who co-founded the H. J. Heinz Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was involved in the passage of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act. Many of his descendants ...

, ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', ''

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review The ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review'', also known as "the Trib", is the second-largest daily newspaper serving the Greater Pittsburgh metropolitan area of Western Pennsylvania. It transitioned to an all-digital format on December 1, 2016, but rema ...

'' and

U.S. Steel The United States Steel Corporation is an American steel company based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It maintains production facilities at several additional locations in the U.S. and Central Europe. The company produces and sells steel products, ...

. The Mellon family created trolly amusement parks in the late 1800s along their railway lines for public use. Both

Kennywood Kennywood is an amusement park in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, just southeast of Pittsburgh. The park opened on May 30, 1898, as a trolley park attraction at the end of the Mellon family's Monongahela Street Railway. It was purchased in 1906 ...

and

Idlewild Park Idlewild and Soak Zone, also known as Idlewild Park or simply Idlewild, is an amusement park in the Laurel Highlands near Ligonier, Pennsylvania, about east of Pittsburgh. Founded in 1878 as a campground along the Ligonier Valley Railroad by ...

remain in existence. The family has also been known for using its wealth to support philanthropic work in the arts, education and conservation through various nonprofit organizations. It founded the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...

and is a major patron to the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

. Individual members of the Mellon family have created

private foundations Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

and donated to museums and

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

Foundations

The Richard King Mellon Foundation was created by

Richard King Mellon Richard King Mellon (June 19, 1899 – June 3, 1970), commonly known as R.K., was an American financier, general, and philanthropist from Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and part of the Mellon family. Biography The son of Richard B. Mellon, nephew of ...

in 1947. It primarily works in Pennsylvania to preserve and restore the area's natural environment. In 2001 the foundation donated two tracts of land, totaling 61,633 acres, to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) for the Maurepas Swamp WMA. Between 2001 and 2011 another 12,000 acres were gained through purchases and donations. In 2012 another 29,630 acres (The MC Davis Tract) was acquired from The Conservation Fund. Subsequent acquisitions of the Rathborne, Boyce, and Crusel tracts gave the WMA 122,098 acres. The foundation was reported to have $2.6 billion in total assets, $143 million in expenses and disbursements and $128 million in revenue as of 2023. It is considered one of the 50 largest foundations in the world. Laurel Foundation is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was established in 1951 by Cordelia Scaife May. The foundation's website lists its principal funding areas as "arts and culture, environment and conservation, vocational education, and community development/beautification". In 2003, the Laurel Foundation allocated $750,000 to acquire a George Washington manuscript at auction as well as a set of orders signed by British Major-General

Edward Braddock Edward Braddock (January 1695 – 13 July 1755) was a British officer and commander-in-chief for the Thirteen Colonies during the start of the French and Indian War (1754–1763), the North American front of what is known in Europe and Canada as ...

. The foundation had also contributed to the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

miniseries, ''

The War that Made America ''The War that Made America'' is a PBS miniseries (produced by WQED Pittsburgh) about the French and Indian War, which was first aired in two parts on January 18 and 25, 2006. The series features extensive reenactments of historical events, wi ...

'' around that time. The

Colcom Foundation Colcom Foundation is an anti-immigration private foundation established in 1996 by Cordelia Scaife May, a Mellon family heiress. It is a major funding source for the anti-immigration movement in the United States, supporting several organizations ...

was established by Cordelia Scaife May in 1996, where she was its chairman. Her philanthropic work centered around the intersection of

environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...

and

population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The World population, global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to aroun ...

in the United States. It is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and "supports conservation, environmental projects, and cultural assets" in the area. According to the organization, it is also "the most important foundation donors to immigration-control organizations". The Colcom foundation has been the target of protests in the Pittsburgh area due to its anti-immigration stance.

Scaife Foundations

The Allegheny Foundation was established by

Richard Mellon Scaife Richard Mellon Scaife (; July 3, 1932 – July 4, 2014) was an American billionaire, a principal heir to the Mellon family, Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, and the owner and publisher of the ''Pittsburgh Tribune-Review''. In 2005 ...

as a grant-making organization for "historic preservation, civic development and education". After his death, $364 million was left to the Allegheny Foundation. Its donations have gone to

Point Park University Point Park University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Formerly known as Point Park College, the school name was revised in 2004 to reflect the number of graduate programs being offered. In 2021, it had a total undergraduate ...

for the

Pittsburgh Playhouse Pittsburgh Playhouse is Point Park University's performing arts center located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It houses three performance spaces and is home to The Rep, Point Park's resident professional theatre company, as well as three student com ...

Saint Vincent College Saint Vincent College is a private Catholic, Benedictines, Benedictine college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 by Boniface Wimmer, a monk from Bavaria, it is operated by the Benedictine Monks of Saint Vincent Archabbey, the first Bene ...

and the

Extra Mile Education Foundation The Extra Mile Education Foundation is a privately funded, non-profit charity 501(3)(c) based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, founded in 1989. The money raised by the charity is used to subsidize the tuition of low income students who attend several ...

, among others. The organization is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Scaife Family Foundation was created by Jennie Scaife which is "almost exclusively a supporter of animal welfare and other humanitarian issues." It was previously known for funding conservative groups and was among the largest contributors to the

climate change denial Climate change denial (also global warming denial) is a form of science denial characterized by rejecting, refusing to acknowledge, disputing, or fighting the scientific consensus on climate change. Those promoting denial commonly use rhetor ...

movement from 2003 to 2010.Isaac Stanley-Becker & Craig Timberg
Trump's allies turned to online campaign in quest to unmask Ukraine whistleblower
''Washington Post'' (November 7, 2019).Howard Kurtz
Reason's Altered Rationale
''Washington Post'' (November 5, 2001). It has also donated significant sums to the University of Pittsburgh. The

Sarah Scaife Sarah Cordelia Mellon Scaife (December 10, 1903 – December 28, 1965) was an American heiress, philanthropist, and Republican Party donor. Her legacy includes the Sarah Scaife Foundation. Early life Born on December 10, 1903, Sarah Cordelia ...

Foundation funds

politically conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

organizations and think tanks at the national and international level in areas such as economics and

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...

. It has awarded more than $235 million to organizations such as the

George C. Marshall Institute The George C. Marshall Institute (GMI) was a nonprofit conservative think tank in the United States. It was established in 1984 with a focus on science and public policy issues and had an initial focus in defense policy. Starting in the late 1980 ...

Project for the New American Century The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was a neoconservative *"The PNAC's 33 leaders were highly connected with the American state – displaying 115 such connections: 27 with the Department of Defense, 13 with State, 12 with the Whit ...

, the

Institute for Humane Studies The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) is a non-profit organization that promotes the teaching and research of classical liberalism in higher education in the United States. IHS offers funding opportunities, programs, and events for faculty and g ...

Reason Foundation The Reason Foundation is an American Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian think tank that was founded in 1978. The foundation publishes the magazine ''Reason (magazine), Reason''. Based in Los Angeles, California, it is a nonprofit, ...

, and

Judicial Watch Judicial Watch (JW) is an American conservative activist group that files Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits to investigate claimed misconduct by government officials. Founded in 1994, Judicial Watch has primarily targeted Democrat ...

. The Carthage Foundation, which worked to influence public discourse and contribute to policy development with limited government, merged with the Sarah Scaife Foundation in 2014. It does not award

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

to individuals.

References

{{reflist Foundations based in the United States

Background

Foundations

Scaife Foundations

See also

References