The Scaife family is a wealthy Pittsburgh-based dynasty whose fortune traces back to the Mellon banking empire through Sarah Mellon Scaife (1905-1965), daughter of Richard Beatty Mellon, who married Alan Scaife in 1931. Sarah established the Sarah Scaife Foundation in 1941, initially focused on arts and culture but shifting to conservative policy advocacy after her husband's death. Her son, Richard Mellon Scaife (1932-2014), expanded the family's influence by managing multiple foundations, including the Sarah Scaife Foundation, the Allegheny Foundation, and the short-lived Carthage Foundation (closed 2002), directing hundreds of millions to right-wing causes such as the Heritage Foundation, Hoover Institution, and Federalist Society. Richard Scaife, a key figure, owned the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review newspaper from 1970 until its sale in 2016 and was known for funding investigations into the Clinton scandals, earning labels like 'GOP sugar daddy' from media outlets. The family faced personal controversies, including Richard's highly publicized 2000 divorce amid allegations of infidelity and substance issues, settled for $725 million. He also faced a 1974 IRS audit over foundation spending, though no major legal convictions are documented. Post-2014, the Scaife Foundations continue under trustees like Shauna S. Moyne (Richard's daughter), granting over $100 million biennially to conservative nonprofits, think tanks, and universities promoting free enterprise and national defense. The foundations have been criticized by left-leaning groups like Media Matters for bankrolling climate denial and partisan media, while praised by conservatives for countering liberal philanthropy.