With the inheritance received upon the death of her grandmother, who died in the autumn of 2022, Marlene Engelhorn, an Austro-German descendant of the founder of the BASF giant Friedrich Engelhorn, became a multimillionaire. Already three years ago the thirty-one year old had announced that she wanted to give away much of the money that would come to her as an inheritance, now it is clear how the redistribution of her wealth will take place: 50 people selected at random will form a democratic committee to decide what to do with the 25 million . “I inherited a fortune – Engelhorn, who lives in Vienna, said in an interview – and with it the power to manage it, without having done anything to deserve it, and what’s more, tax-free.” In Austria, in fact, there is no inheritance tax, it was abolished in 2008 and Marlene Engelhorn, who as well as being an heiress is a social rights activist, founded the international network «Millionairs for Humanity» together with other politically left-wing millionaires who works to ensure that inherited wealth is distributed fairly and taxed more. The wealth of Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto, Marlene Engelhorn’s grandmother, was estimated by Forbes at 3.8 billion euros, and even before her death her granddaughter had declared that she wanted to distribute around 90% of what she had would have inherited. Last week, an invitation to apply to be members of the committee called “Good Council for Redistribution” arrived in the letterboxes of 10,000 randomly chosen Austrians, over 16 years of age and residing in all the Lands of the Alpine country.
Applications must be received via online registration or by telephone, providing your personal details and a profile. Based on this feedback, the Foresight institute (formerly Sora) led by social researcher Christoph Hofinger will select 50 people who represent a cross-section of the Austrian population, therefore: individuals of all age groups, coming from all regions of the country , belonging to all social classes and with every type of cultural background. 15 reserve members will also be selected, in case someone abandons the position. «I will make my assets available to these 50 people and I will give them my trust», Engelhorn explained that he will not have the right to veto on the decisions that will be taken by the committee. “If politicians don’t do their job and don’t take care of redistributing my wealth – he added – then I have to do it.”
For the heiress, it is a “political failure” that many Austrian citizens can barely make ends meet with a full-time job and still have to pay taxes on every euro they earn. The 50 people chosen for her committee will therefore decide where the 25 million of the inheritance will go, but they will also have to develop ideas for the redistribution of wealth in Austria and suggest ways of doing so. First, however, they will have to undergo a training period in Salzburg with university professors and researchers and organizations involved in civil rights. The courses will be held in spring, six appointments on weekends which will be organized so that there are no difficulties for any participants with disabilities, and with assistance for children and interpreters for those who need it. And 1200 euros as reimbursement of expenses for each weekend per person.