The Mellon family’s fortune can be linked back to judge Thomas Mellon who founded the Melon Bank in 1869. Over time, the family financially bought into companies like Gulf Oil (it later became Chevron Corporation in 1985), Alcoa, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Koppers, New York Shipbuilding, Westinghouse, Newsweek, U.S. Steel, and General Motors. The Mellons however are generous and use their immense wealth – nearly $12 billion – to help charitable and academic causes which includes the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, Yale University, the University of Virginia, and its Mellon College of Science that was named in their honor.