Ms. Marlene Engelhorn (Photo: CBS News).
An Austrian woman from a European business family is taking part of her inheritance and letting 50 strangers decide what to do with more than $27 million. It's her way of fighting wealth inequality.
Marlene Engelhorn, 31, believes the Austrian government should introduce wealth and inheritance taxes to reduce wealth inequality. She also takes matters into her own hands.
Engelhorn sent out invitations to 10,000 randomly selected people in Austria, asking them to complete a survey. Of those who completed it, she selected 50 people from various backgrounds who she felt represented the Austrian population.
They will serve as an advisory board to advise her on how to spend her $27 million inheritance.
Engelhorn said her wealth was accumulated before she was even born.
According to BBC News, Engelhorn inherited millions of dollars from his grandmother, who died in 2022. They are descendants of Friedrich Engelhorn, founder of BASF, a German pharmaceutical company.
It's unclear how much Engelhorn, who lives in Austria, inherited from her grandmother, who Forbes estimates is worth about $4.2 billion. She announced before her grandmother died that she would give away about 90 percent of her inheritance.
Engelhorn believes that many heirs share virtually no wealth with society and benefit from tax privileges.
She believes that poverty is on the rise in Austria. According to EUROSTAT, the poverty rate in Austria is at risk at 14.8%.
Instead of just donating the money she inherited, she wanted others to help her spend it.
The 50-person council will meet over six weekends from March to June to discuss how Engelhorn's wealth can be used to create change. She will pay for their travel and lodging during the meetings.
According to the website Guter Rat, the richest 1% of the population in Austria owns 50% of the country's net worth. Most of them inherited money from their families.
Austria does not impose property tax or inheritance tax, while more than two-thirds of Austrians support property tax.
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