Andrew Mellon American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist and art collector Date of Birth: 24.03.1855 Country: USA

1. Biography of Andrew Mellon
2. Early Business Ventures
3. Success and Philanthropy
4. Minister of Finance
5. Personal Life and Philanthropy

Biography of Andrew Mellon

Andrew William Mellon was an American banker, businessman, industrialist, philanthropist, and art collector. Born on March 24, 1855, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, Mellon's father, Thomas Mellon, was an Irish-Scottish immigrant who was a banker and judge, and his mother was Sarah Jane Negley Mellon. He graduated from the Western University of Pennsylvania in 1873.

Early Business Ventures

Mellon showed his financial acumen from a young age. In 1872, with his father's assistance, he opened a business selling and manufacturing lumber and coal, which soon became profitable. He also joined his father's firm, T. Mellon & Sons, in 1880, and expanded their industrial activities. Mellon became interested in shipbuilding, construction, oil extraction, and steel production.

Success and Philanthropy

Every day, Mellon would fix his hair in the reception area near his office on the second floor, looking down at the marble lobby of the Pittsburgh bank founded by his father. As soon as an important client appeared, Mellon would jump out of his chair, run down the stairs, and greet the visitor. He established giant enterprises in aluminum production and processing, carborundum, and coke. He became a partner of Edward Goodrich Acheson, a renowned manufacturer of silicon carbide. Mellon utilized Heinrich Koppers' invention, the coke oven, to transform industrial waste into useful products such as coal gas, coal tar, and sulfur. He was also one of the early investors in the New York Shipbuilding Corporation.

Mellon's business ventures made him one of the wealthiest individuals in the United States. In the mid-1920s, he paid the third-largest income tax in the country, following John D. Rockefeller and Henry Ford. His fortune reached its peak in 1929-1930, with an estimated worth of $300-400 million.

Minister of Finance

As the 49th Secretary of the Treasury from March 4, 1921, to February 12, 1932, Mellon's goal was to reduce the enormous national debt accumulated during World War I. To achieve this, he aimed to increase federal revenue and reduce government spending. Mellon believed that high tax rates led people to hide their income. His new policies helped reduce the debt from $33 billion in 1919 to $16 billion in 1929.

However, with the onset of the Great Depression, Mellon became unpopular. He advised President Herbert Hoover to liquidate the stock market, farms, and real estate to completely overhaul the corrupt system. According to his perspective, after the changes, individuals would work hard and lead more moral lives. Additionally, Mellon advocated for the elimination of "weak" banks to restore the entire banking system.

Personal Life and Philanthropy

In 1890, at the age of 45, Andrew Mellon married Nora Mary McMullen, the 20-year-old daughter of the principal shareholder of Guinness Brewing Co. The couple had two children. The marriage ended in a painful divorce in 1912 after Nora was caught having affairs with George Alfred Curphey, an English soldier, and other men.

As a serious art collector, Mellon donated his entire collection in 1937 and allocated $10 million for the construction of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Andrew W. Mellon passed away on August 26, 1937, in Southampton, Long Island, New York.