Richard Mellon Scaife (1932–2014) was an American billionaire heir to the Mellon family's vast fortune in banking, oil, and aluminum, stemming from institutions like Mellon Bank, Gulf Oil, and Alcoa. Born in Pittsburgh to Sarah Mellon Scaife (daughter of banker William Larimer Mellon) and Alan Scaife (a World War I veteran and unsuccessful businessman), his wealth derived from his grandfather Richard Beatty Mellon and great-uncle Andrew Mellon, who served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. Educated at Deerfield Academy, where he faced expulsion/nearly failed to graduate due to underage drinking, Scaife briefly attended Yale and the University of Pittsburgh but did not complete degrees.

He took control of family foundations in the 1960s, transforming them into major funders of conservative causes, think tanks, and media outlets—notably through foundations like the Sarah Scaife Foundation—earning him a reputation as a key architect and financier of the modern American conservative movement and as a conservative philanthropist and activist. A prolific Republican donor, he supported figures like Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan and funded numerous right-wing organizations, including the Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, and controversial groups linked to Islamophobia networks like the David Horowitz Freedom Center and Middle East Forum. He also provided significant early funding to Judicial Watch. As owner and publisher of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review from 1970 until his death, Scaife used his media influence to promote right-wing ideologies and fund media and think tanks critical of liberal causes. He notably funded investigations into the Clinton administration through the 'Arkansas Project' in the 1990s, which contributed to scandals like Whitewater and alleged affairs.

His philanthropy extended to art collecting and cultural institutions, but he faced personal controversies, including a bitter divorce from his first wife, Frances, in the 1990s and a contentious 2007 divorce from his second wife, Ritchie Scaife, involving accusations of infidelity, abuse, and a disputed prenuptial agreement that led to a $200 million settlement after years of litigation. Scaife's later years were marked by health decline, including prostate cancer and frontotemporal dementia, and a partial reconciliation with the political figures he once targeted, such as the Clintons. By 2013, his net worth was estimated at $1.4 billion, down from peaks earlier in his life. His legacy remains polarizing: hailed by conservatives as a visionary philanthropist and criticized by liberals for bankrolling partisan attacks and misinformation campaigns. He died from cancer in 2014.