Washington: Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire and a major financial backer of US President Donald Trump, is the anonymous private donor who gave $US130 million ($199.7 million) to the US government to help pay troops during the shutdown, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Trump announced the donation last week, but he declined to identify the person who provided the funds, only calling him a “patriot” and a friend. But the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the donation was private, identified him as Mellon.

Portrait of businessman Timothy Mellon in 1981. He was born in 1942. Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

Shortly after departing Washington on Friday (Saturday AEDT), Trump again declined to identify Mellon while talking to reporters aboard A

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