Heiress of about four billion euros asks for help in redistributing wealth

Marlene Engelhorn, heiress to an estate valued at around four billion euros, wants 50 people to help redistribute her wealth.

Last Wednesday, the 31-year-old Austrian sent out ten thousand invitations to bring together 50 people who would help her decide the fate of her 25 million euro inheritance.

“If politicians don’t do their job, then I myself will have to redistribute my wealth (…) I put my assets at the disposal of these 50 people and trust them,” explained Marlene Engelhorn, quoted BBC News.

Those wishing to take part in the initiative, called “Good Redistribution Council” (“Guter Rat für Rückverteilung” in German), can register online or by telephone. The group will be invited to contribute ideas to create solutions that benefit society as a whole.

Once selected, the group will meet in Salzburg, Austria, with academics and civil society organizations from March to June this year. Transport costs will be covered and participants will receive 1200 euros for participation.

If the Good Redistribution Board does not make some concrete and “widely supported” decision about what to do with the estate, the project becomes void and the money is returned to Marlene Engelhorn.

Marlene became world famous after revealing that she wanted to give 90% of her assets to the state because she was concerned about social injustice.

The woman grew up in a mansion in Vienna, Austria, and always studied at the most prestigious schools in the city. She explains that when she was young, she was unaware of the privileges she had as a rich girl, but over time, she became aware of all these perks.

Today he considers himself “the product of an unequal society” and believes that wealth not earned by his own labor should be distributed by the state democratically.

Marlene’s family fortune traces its origins to Friedrich Engelhorn, who founded BASF, one of the largest chemical companies in the world, in Germany about 150 years ago.

Another family company, Boehringer Mannheim, which produced pharmaceuticals and medical diagnostic equipment, was sold in 1997 for $11 billion (about 10 billion euros).