01/19/2024 – 11:21
Austrian-German millionaire heiress Marlene Engelhorn, 31, decided to bring together a group of 50 Austrian citizens to decide how she should distribute a large part of the fortune she earned from her grandmother.
Meet the heiress who gave up more than R$20 billion
She is a descendant of Friedrich Engelhorn, founder of the German chemical and pharmaceutical company BASF, and inherited millions of euros when her grandmother Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto died in September 2022.
As Austria abolished inheritance taxes in 2008, Marlene did not think it was fair to have inherited a fortune “without having done anything for it”. So she sent 10 invitations to 50 randomly selected Austrian citizens to decide how she should redistribute €25 million (about R$133 million) of her inheritance.
Other Austrian citizens who wish to participate in Marlene's initiative must register online or by phone.
The group will participate in a series of meetings in Salzburg, Austria, with academics and civil society organizations between March and June this year. For Marlene, the discussions will serve as “a service to democracy” and she also highlighted that she does not have the right to veto.
If the group does not reach a “widely supported” decision about what to do with the money, the inheritance will go back to Marlene Engelhorn.
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