Paul Mellon (June 11, 1907 – February 1, 1999) was an
American philanthropist and an owner/
breeder of
thoroughbred racehorses. He is one of only five people ever designated an "Exemplar of Racing" by the
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. He was co-heir to one of America's greatest business fortunes, the
Mellon Bank fortune, created by his grandfather
Thomas Mellon, his father
Andrew W. Mellon, and his father's brother
Richard B. Mellon. In 1957, when
Fortune prepared its first list of the
wealthiest Americans, it estimated that Paul Mellon, his sister
Ailsa Mellon-Bruce, and his cousins
Sarah Mellon and
Richard King Mellon, were all among the richest eight people in the United States, with fortunes of between 400 and 700 million dollars each (around $ and $ in today's dollars).