http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Mellon

Andrew William Mellon was an American banker, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector and Secretary of the Treasury from March 4, 1921 until February 12, 1932.

He joined his father's banking house in 1874 and through the next three decades built up a financial empire by supplying capital for corporations in industries such as aluminum, steel, and oil. He helped found the Aluminum Co. of America (Alcoa) and the Gulf Oil Corp., and he joined Henry Clay Frick to found Union Steel Co. and Union Trust Co. By the early 1920s he was one of the richest men in the U.S. As secretary of the Treasury (1921 – 32) he persuaded Congress to lower taxes in order to encourage business expansion. He was praised for the economic boom of the 1920s but criticized during the Great Depression, and in 1932 he resigned to serve as ambassador to England. A noted art collector and philanthropist, Mellon donated an extensive art collection and $15 million to establish the National Gallery of Art.

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Andrew Mellon, the son of the banker, Thomas Mellon, was born in Pittsburgh in 1855. When he took control of his father's banking house he invested in growth industries such as coke, coal and iron. Mellon helped establish the Aluminum Company off America, the Gulf Oil Corporation (1895), the Union Trust Company (1898) and the Pittsburgh Coal Company (1899).

A member of the Republican Party, Mellon served as secretary of the treasury under presidents, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover. During his period in office (1921-32), Mellon followed policies that involved cutting income tax rates and reducing public spending. He also brought an end to the excess profits tax. Mellon's policies created a great deal of controversy and he was accused of following policies that favoured the wealthy.

The economic depression was partly blamed on Mellon's policies and contributed to the defeat of Herbert Hoover in 1932. Mellon lost in post as secretary of the treasury with the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. Andrew Mellon, who established the Mellon Institute for Industrial Research and endowed the National Gallery of Art, died in 1937.