Matthew Mellon
Matthew Taylor Mellon II | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 28, 1964 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | April 16, 2018 (aged 54) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, private equity investor |
| Spouse | Nicole Hanley Mellon |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Christopher Mellon (brother) |
| Website | www |
Matthew Taylor Mellon II (January 28, 1964 – April 16, 2018) was an American businessman who was a chairman of New York Republican Party’s finance committee.[1][2] He was named Finance Chairman by State Chairman Ed Cox in May 2011.
Life and career
Born in New York City, Mellon was raised in Manhattan, Palm Beach, Florida and Northeast Harbor, Maine. He attended Phelps, a boys' boarding school outside of Philadelphia, followed by college at the Wharton School, where he studied management.[3][4] Mellon's father abandoned the family when Matthew was five years old, before dying by suicide in 1983.[4]
He was a direct descendant of Judge Thomas Mellon,[5] founder of the Mellon Bank, now part of Bank of New York Mellon corp, on his paternal side. On his maternal side he was a direct descendant of Anthony Joseph Drexel, founder of a precursor to Drexel Burnham Lambert. He maintained associations with Drexel University and Carnegie Mellon University, both of which were founded by family members. Matthew was also involved with the National Gallery of Art, the core of whose collection was donated to the nation by his great-uncle, Andrew Mellon.[6]
Mellon lived in New York City with his wife Nicole Hanley Mellon prior to their 2016 divorce,[7][8] and their two children, son Force and daughter Olympia.[9][10] He also had a daughter, Araminta, whom he raised jointly with his former wife, Tamara Mellon, the founder of Jimmy Choo.[11][10] Prior to his marriage to Nicole, Mellon was engaged to entrepreneur Noelle Reno, with whom he established a cashmere knitwear line.[12]
Mellon suffered from bipolar disorder, as did his father.[4]
In February 2018 Forbes magazine reported that an investment in the crypto currency XRP, known widely as Ripple, resulted in Matthew Mellon turning a $2 million investment into a $1 billion fortune.[13][14]
Mellon died in a Cancun, Mexico drug rehabilitation facility. He was 54 years old.[15] Mellon had previously blamed physicians for his addiction to OxyContin, having formed the habit when he was prescribed it after a surfing accident.[16]
References
- ^ "Finance Committee". NYGOP. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
- ^ Vardi, Nathan. "Mellon Banking Heir's New Crypto Fortune: Almost $1B In Ripple's XRP". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ^ "Billionaire Banking Heir Matthew Mellon Dies at 54". Bloomberg.com. 2018-04-17.
- ^ a b c Conti, Samantha. "Matthew Mellon: Heir Conditioning". W Magazine. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ^ see family tree at Mellon family
- ^ Ian Sansom. "Great dynasties of the world: The Mellons". London, UK: The Guardian. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- ^ Katie Nicholl (2010-04-03). "Matthew Mellon marries Nicole Hanley". London, UK: Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
- ^ "Billionaire Matthew Mellon dies in rehab in Mexico aged 53". Mail Online. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ^ Nicholl, Katie (2011-01-02). "Tamara Mellon's ex-husband Matthew becomes a dad for the second time". London, UK: Dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
- ^ a b "Jimmy Choo founder's ex dies aged 54 after fighting $100,000-a-month opioid addiction". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ^ Chang, Bee-Shyuan (2012-10-26). "Tamara Mellon's Next Step". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-09-05.
- ^ Walker, Tim (2008-05-29). "Noelle Reno's degree of freedom". ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ^ Nathan Vardi: Mellon Banking Heir's New Crypto Fortune: Almost $1B In Ripple's XRP, forbes.com, February 28, 2018.
- ^ "Billionaire banking heir and cryptocurrency investor Matthew Mellon dies in rehab at 54". Business Insider France (in French). Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ^ Mohr, Ian (April 16, 2018). "Billionaire banking heir Matthew Mellon dies in rehab facility". Page Six. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
- ^ "Banking heir Matthew Mellon was taking 80 OxyContin pills a day". Page Six. 2016-04-03. Retrieved 2018-04-17.