Richard Mellon Scaife

Richard Mellon Scaife
Born(1932-07-03)July 3, 1932
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJuly 4, 2014(2014-07-04) (aged 82)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationYale University (expelled then flunk out)
University of Pittsburgh
EmployerOwner of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Known forConservative political involvement
Newspaper owner
Mellon family heir
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Frances L. Gilmore
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1956; div. 1991)​
    [1]
  • Margaret "Ritchie" Battle
    ​
    ​
    (m. 1991; div. 2012)​
    [2][3]
Children2
Parents
RelativesCordelia Scaife May (sister)
Websitewww.scaife.com

Richard Mellon Scaife (/skeɪf/; July 3, 1932 – July 4, 2014) was an American billionaire, a principal heir to the Mellon banking, oil, and aluminum fortune, and the owner and publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. In 2005, Scaife was number 238 on the Forbes 400, with a personal fortune of $1.2 billion. By 2013, Scaife had dropped to number 371 on the listing, with a personal fortune of $1.4 billion.

During his life, Scaife was known for his financial support of conservative public policy organizations over the past four decades. He provided support for conservative and libertarian causes in the United States, mostly through the private, nonprofit foundations he controlled: the Sarah Scaife Foundation, Carthage Foundation, and Allegheny Foundation, and until 2001, the Scaife Family Foundation, now controlled by son David.[4][5]

  1. ^ Gross, Michael Joseph (February 2008). "A Vast Right-Wing Hypocrisy". Vanity Fair. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  2. ^ "Scaife's Wife Gets Giant Settlement after Messy Divorce – Claims Newspaper Is 'Hobby'". Editor & Publisher. September 16, 2007. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  3. ^ "Billionaire Conservative Activist Richard Mellon Scaife Dies at 82". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. July 4, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
  4. ^ Robert G. Kaiser (December 17, 1998). "Scaife Denies Ties to 'Conspiracy', Starr". Special Report: Clinton Accused. The Washington Post. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  5. ^ Sarah Scaife Foundation Archived May 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, mediatransparency.org; accessed August 3, 2014.