Heiress searching for 50 strangers to help her give away her $27 million inheritance
An heiress is trying to give away her vast inheritance as a gesture towards wealth redistribution.
Marlene Engelhorn is looking for people to help give away her $27.4 million inheritance from her grandmother Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto after her death in September 2022.
Engelhorn has long been an advocate for wealth redistribution, including cofounding 'Tax Me Now'.
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This is a group of wealthy people in German-speaking countries who are campaigning for higher taxes on the wealthy.
The 31-year-old is set to inherit a fortune due to chemical company BASF, which was founded by her descendant Friedrich Engelhorn.
But how exactly is she going about this?
Well, she has sent out 10,000 invitations to Austrian citizens over the age of 16.
These people have been randomly selected to participate in the Good Council for Redistribution.
This is made up of 50 chosen participants and 15 substitutes, and is set to collaborate with civil-society organisations and academics when it meets in Salzburg from March to June.
As for the participants, they will receive $1,300 for each weekend they attend to cover travel and childcare costs.
Sounds like that could make a pretty fair dent in the wealth already just from asking people how to redistribute it.
Engelhorn has previously spoken out publicly about how she won the 'birth lottery' after inheriting the multi-million dollar fortune.
She is also a vocal supporter of higher taxes on the top one percent wealthiest in society.
In August 2022 she joined an event in Amsterdam called Millionaires for Humanity, which campaigned for increasing taxes on the rich.
Speaking in a Facebook video, she said: "Millionaires should not get to decide whether or not they contribute in a just way to the societies they live in.
"Social justice is in everyone's best interest. Wealth taxes are the least we can do to take responsibility. Tax us."
In an interview with the Washington Post, she said: "In Austria, the richest one percent hoards up to 50 percent of the net wealth."
The Washington Post previously reported that Austria abolished taxes on gifts and inheritances in 2008.
Meanwhile, the United States does not have a federal inheritance tax, though some states have independently brought them in.
In the UK, inheritance tax currently stands at 40 percent once an estate reaches a certain threshold.
This currently stands at £325,000, with everything above that taxed at 40 percent.
But according to the UK government website there are exceptions, such as if you leave everything above the threshold to a spouse, charity, or 'community amateur sports club'.
That last one seems weirdly specific, right?
Topics: News, World News, Money
Kit Roberts