Her grandmother left her all her wealth, the Austrian heiress will distribute it to people in need
2024-01-11 14:31:25
TiranaPost
Marlene Engelhorn, 31, inherited a fortune from her grandmother, which she doesn't want to keep for herself.
She is an Austrian-German activist and helped create Tax Me Noë, a campaign to fight wealth inequality.
Austria abolished inheritance tax in 2008, a decision it believes is unfair.
Marlene said in a statement: “I inherited a fortune, and therefore power, without doing anything to earn it. And the state doesn't even want taxes on it. If the politicians don't do their jobs and redistribute, then I have to redistribute my wealth myself. Many people struggle to make ends meet with a full-time job and pay tax on every euro they earn from work. I see this as a policy failure and if the policy fails, then the citizens have to deal with it themselves," she said.
Marlene is a descendant of Friedrich Engelhorn, founder of the chemical and pharmaceutical giant BASF.
Her grandmother Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto died in September 2022. Her fortune was estimated by Forbes at 3.8 billion euros.
Invitations have now been sent to 10,000 randomly selected addresses, with applicants asked to complete a short survey before being selected from a pool of 50 recipients.
They will start presenting ideas on how they can spend the money.
Marlene has said she will play no role in the decision-making process, leaving it up to the council to select the recipients, inside or outside Austria.
The money must not go to activities that are unconstitutional, hostile or inhumane.
