Marlene Engelhorn

Marlene Engelhorn
Marlene Engelhorn at Re:publica in 2023
Born1992
Vienna, Austria
NationalityGerman
Austrian
EducationUniversity of Vienna (BA)
Occupations
  • Activist
  • philanthropist
Known forAdvocacy for inheritance tax policies and gay rights
Notable workGeld
AwardsHuman Act Award (2022)

Marlene Engelhorn (born 1992, Vienna)[1][2] is an Austrian and German[2] activist and heiress known for advocating the reform of inheritance tax policies.[3][4][5][6]

A descendant of Friedrich Engelhorn from the family who founded the chemical industry concern BASF, and granddaughter of Peter Engelhorn [de], Engelhorn inherited a considerable fortune from her grandmother, Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto [de], whose wealth was estimated at $4.2bn (€3.8bn).[7] She gained media attention after saying in an interview that she was in favour of wealth tax and willing to be taxed at 90% on her inheritance[2] or to donate 90% of her wealth.[8] In 2024, she did the latter.

Engelhorn is also the founder of Tax me now, a German initiative lobbying for higher taxes on the wealthy.

Early life and education

A descendant of Friedrich Engelhorn from the family who founded the chemical industry concern BASF, and granddaughter of Peter Engelhorn [de] and Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto [de], Marlene Engelhorn was born in Vienna in 1992. Like many from the local bourgeoisie, she studied in the Lycée Français de Vienne.[2]

She studied German language and literature at the University of Vienna, but did not obtain a degree.[9] She would like to work as proofreader for a publishing company.[2]

Awareness and tax activism

She mentioned she became aware of her wealth situation at the university, when she was in contact with ″normal″ people.[2]

In 2021, she discovered she was going to inherit directly from her grandmother, Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto [de], whose wealth was estimated at $4.2bn (€3.8bn).[7] Marlene Engelhorn claimed she wanted the Austrian state to tax her at 90%, as this inheritage seemed "unfair" to her because she had not worked for it. However, there is no tax on inheritance in Austria.[2][6]

She founded the group Tax me now in Germany in 2021 to lobby for higher taxes on the wealthy.[10] In 2024, more than 250 people, including Abigail Disney, heiress from Disney family, Brian Cox, from HBO series Succession, and Valerie Rockefeller, had joined her in this initiative.[11] They sent a letter to Davos Forum to ask for more taxes to millionaires.[11]

Engelhorn's grandmother died in September 2022, and Engelhorn inherited around €25 million.[2][12] Engelhorn claimed she would donate 90% of it.[12] She then created a Council for Redistribution: after sending 10000 letters to Austrian citizens, 50 of them were selected to propose ideas which will benefit society in order to use Engelhorn's fortune.[7] [6][13] Work sessions were organized between March and June 2024 in Salzburg.[7][6] Engelhorn did not have any decision power on the conclusion of the debates.[6] In the end, €25M were redistributed to nearly 80 organizations, including €50000 to Wikipedia.[14]

Recognition

In 2022, the Human Act Award was awarded to Engelhorn for her advocacy of and her work towards wealth taxes in German-speaking Europe.[15]

Publications

  • Engelhorn, Marlene (2022). Geld. Übermorgen. Wien: Verlag Kremayr & Scheriau GmbH & Co.KG. ISBN 978-3-218-01327-7.

References

  1. ^ ""Das Rich Kid, das die Klappe aufreißt"". Forbes (in German). 11 November 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Chastand, Jean-Baptiste (10 November 2022). "Marlene Engelhorn, the Austrian multi-millionaire who wants her fortune taxed". Le Monde. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  3. ^ Bubola, Emma (21 October 2022). "She's Inheriting Millions. She Wants Her Wealth Taxed Away". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "K-Word #403: Neues aus der Lesbenwelt". www.l-mag.de. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  5. ^ Neate, Rupert (22 May 2022). "Millionaires join Davos protests, demanding 'tax us now'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d e Charpentier, Denisse (18 January 2024). "Millonaria austriaca donará gran parte de su fortuna para dar una lección: "No quiero ser tan rica"". BioBioChile – La Red de Prensa Más Grande de Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d Bell, Bethany (10 January 2024). "Austrian heiress Marlene Engelhorn announces plan for €25m giveaway". BBC News. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Marlene Engelhorn". Millionaires for Humanity. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Z2X – Das Festival neuer Visionärinnen und Visionäre". Z2X – Das Festival neuer Visionärinnen und Visionäre (in German). Retrieved 28 January 2024.
  10. ^ "The millionaires calling for higher taxes: 'I'm rich, tax me!'". Le Monde.fr. 23 October 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  11. ^ a b Rosety, Luis Colom (20 January 2024). "Así es Marlene Engelhorn, la empresaria millonaria que pide más impuestos a los ricos en Davos". Forbes España (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  12. ^ a b "L'héritière autrichienne qui voulait redistribuer sa fortune: «devenir multimillionnaire, c'était un hasard» – Le Temps" (in French). 31 January 2024. ISSN 1423-3967. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Autriche. Marlene Engelhorn, la riche héritière qui veut laisser ses compatriotes dépenser son argent". Courrier international (in French). 17 January 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
  14. ^ Yaffa, Joshua (2 September 2024). "How to Give Away a Fortune". The New Yorker. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  15. ^ "Human Act Award 2022". humanact.org. 8 August 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2024.