NYT reveals that Trump supporter Timothy Mellon is the 'anonymous' donor of the $130 million to pay the military

The mystery donor who contributed $130 million to help pay military troops' salaries amid the federal government shutdown is Timothy Mellon, heir to the legendary Gilded Age banking family, revealed The New York Times Saturday.

The donation, announced by President Donald Trump on Thursday, seeks to mitigate the impact of the shutdown in its fourth week.

Mellon is a wealthy 83-year-old railroad man with a net worth estimated at nearly $1 billion by Forbes, described as a "great patriot" close to Trump. The president, during a White House press conference, praised the anonymous donor: “He’s a great gentleman. He’s a great patriot ... and he’s a big supporter of mine,” Trump said Friday night.

Mellon's contribution is specifically intended to cover part of the salaries and benefits of the more than 1.3 million active-duty troops. However, the amount covers about $100 per serviceman, a symbolic gesture in the face of the real cost: paying U.S. troops every two weeks amounts to nearly $6.4 billion, according to Congress estimates.

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell confirmed to The New York Times that the donation was accepted under the "general gift acceptance authority," with the explicit condition that it be used to offset payments to the military.

The government shutdown

The shutdown, initiated 24 days ago over budget disagreements in Congress, has crippled nonessential federal operations and generated tensions over military funding.

Earlier this month, Trump ordered Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to reallocate $8 billion from research and development programs to cover mid-October salaries. This move, described as a national priority, has been criticized by Democrats as an abuse of funds.