Matthew Mellon, an offshoot of New York's Mellon and Drexel banking families, has died at the age of 54 at a drug rehab centre in Mexico. Mellon was renowned in the cryptocurrency spheres having made his Billions by investing in cryptocurrency.
Mellon also lists on his LinkedIn page that he was a global ambassador for Ripple, for almost three years.
Crypto billionaire
In a statement published in the New York Post, his family said he "made his fortune in cryptocurrency, turning a $2 mln investment into $1 bln.”
Mellon was a bit of a game changer having been born into a banking empire, the fan of cryptocurrency did not follow the usual path of hatred towards digital currencies.
As an advisor to Ripple, it was in that cryptocurrency where he allegedly made most of his money. As a banker, it is surprising that he went so far into crypto, but his choice of Ripple has hie main focus makes perfect sense.
"Crypto is scary and dark. It's anti-America," said Mellon, back in February. "I am pro-America, pro-business and pro-bank. That's why I went with Ripple."
The tycoon was born in New York City in 1964 and was a descendant of Thomas Alexander Mellon, founder of The Bank of New York Mellon, and Anthony Joseph Drexel, a banker who founded Wall Street firm Drexel Burnham Lambert.
Drug problems
Still talking to the New York Post, Mellon explained his addiction to prescription painkiller Oxycontin.
"Oxycontin is like legal heroin. And it needs to be addressed," he told The Post in 2016.
“Billionaire Matthew Mellon died suddenly in Cancun, Mexico, where he was attending a drug rehabilitation facility,” a spokesman for Mellon said.
Arman Shirinyan
Alex Dovbnya
Dan Burgin