“I inherited a fortune and therefore power, without doing anything to get it”: she recruits 50 people to decide what to do with her 25 million euros
Marlene Engelhorn is Austrian. She is 31 years old. And she has an heir BASF, the famous German chemical group. Marlene recently inherited 25 million euros after the death of her grandmother. But Marlene is an activist. And she defends the idea of fairer taxation and a more equal distribution of wealth in the world.
In fact, she announced that she would redistribute 90% of the jackpot she received, not long after Austria exempted her from inheritance tax. “I have inherited fortune and therefore power, without doing anything to earn it”, she argues. of which Act.
6 weekends of discussion
Our colleagues at 324 inform us that Marlene will use a very special procedure: 10,000 invitations are distributed – at random – in Austrian mailboxes. Then a representative of 50 people will be selected from the entire population. “They will consolidate the so-called Good Council (“Güter Ret”, in German), which, in addition to deciding the fate of the 25 million euros inherited, will also have to make proposals on how to redistribute wealth in Austria”.324 explains.
On the programme: 6 weekends of talks are organized between March and June in Salzburg. 50 lucky ones will get 1200 euros for the weekend. And what to do with this money has to be decided: with a few rules: “The money cannot go to groups or individuals or be used for unconstitutional, hostile or inhumane activities. Nor can the money end up in for-profit organizations or be engaged in activities contrary to the founding objectives of the Bonn Council”. Finally, if the 50 people selected do not agree, the money will be returned to Marlene.
