Scaife was heir to the coal , steel and oil fortune of the Mellon family . He supported conservative causes with his estimated $ 1.4 billion fortune . Scaife funded investigations into President Bill Clinton around the time of his death . Republican leaders mourned him . Philanthropy did n't give him as great a sense of humor as did newspapers .
Scaife was heir to the coal , steel and oil fortune of the Mellon family . He supported conservative causes with his estimated $ 1.4 billion fortune . Scaife funded investigations into President Bill Clinton around the time of his death . Philanthropy did n't give him as great a sense of humor as did newspapers .