Heiress wants 50 random people to help her give away £21,500,000 fortune
An heiress is setting up a group of 50 random people to help her decide how to give away the £21.5 million fortune she inherited from her grandmother.
Marlene Engelhorn, 31, is an Austrian-German activist and helped create Tax Me Now, a campaign to combat wealth inequality.
Austria abolished inheritance tax in 2008, a decision she believes is unfair.
She said in a statement: ‘I have inherited a fortune, and therefore power, without having done anything for it. And the state doesn’t even want taxes on it. If politicians don’t do their job and redistribute, then I have to redistribute my wealth myself.
‘Many people struggle to make ends meet with a full-time job, and pay taxes on every euro they earn from work.
‘I see this as a failure of politics, and if politics fails, then the citizens have to deal with it themselves.’
Marlene is a descendant of Friedrich Engelhorn, founder of chemical and pharmaceutical giant BASF.
Her grandmother Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto died in September 2022. Her wealth was estimated by Forbes at £3.3 billion (€3.8 billion).
Marlene spoke of her wish to give 90% of her inheritance to the state before her grandmother’s death.
Invites have now been sent to 10,000 randomly selected addresses, with applicants asked to complete a short survey before being whittled down to a 50-person ‘Good Council for Redistribution’.
Researchers will help ensure those selected are representative of the wider Austrian population.
They will then begin submitting ideas for how the money should be spent.
Marlene has said she will play no part in the decision-making process, with the council free to hand the entire fortune to one organisation or several, in Austria or overseas.
There are no caveats, save that the money must not go on activities that are either unconstitutional, hostile or inhumane, and cannot be donated to profit-making organisations or projects running counter to her own.
‘I have no veto rights,’ she said. ‘I am putting my assets at the disposal of these 50 people and placing my trust in them.’
The group will meet several times between March and June this year, with experts on hand to help.
Their travel costs and any childcare will be covered and each will receive £1,000 (€1,200) for every weekend session they attend.
Should they fail to come to a ‘widely supported’ decision on what to do with the fortune, it will go back to Marlene.
She has not revealed exactly how much of her inheritance is being donated but has previously spoken of her wish to give up at least 90%, with the hope it will go to the state in the form of tax.
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