Marlene Engelhorn, the multi-billionaire who wants to give 90% of her inheritance to the government | the world

Despite himself, thirty-year-old Austro-German Marlene Engelhorn became a multi-millionaire after the death of her grandmother Tradel Engelhorn-Vecchiato on October 22. She is 95 years old. This fortune, she was Friedrich Engelhorn, her great-grandfather and founder of BASF, the world’s largest chemical group.

Forbes magazine estimated that at the time of his death, Tradel Engelhorn-Vecchiato was worth four billion euros. If she still doesn’t know the exact amount, the 30-year-old should get a “small” part of this enormous fortune, which is several tens of millions of euros. Such an amount would make people happy, but not Marlene Engelhorn, who says the inheritance is “unfair.” “I never worked for it,” said the student of German literature to our colleagues in the world.

It is only in 2021 that the 30-year-old learns that he will inherit from his grandmother. Immediately, the young woman speaks to the media and goes so far as to declare that the government must deduct at least 90% of her inheritance. However, this is impossible because Austria, where he lives, abolished inheritance tax in 2008. Later Marlene Engelhorn formed the group “Tax me now”, which unites 59 millionaires who, like her, want to impose higher taxes on large assets, as well as introduce tougher rules on tax evasion.

Marlene Engelhorn is firmly against the myth of the “self-made man.” “We forget that this is an exception. When you’re very rich, because you’re born that way, it’s usually dirty money, not pure luck,” he says. “My ancestor was a white, middle-aged, rich, European man. He had all the perks he needed.

Coincidentally, after her grandmother’s death, Marlene Engelhorn published a book entitled “Geld” (“Money”, in German), in which she advocated taxation “against the rich”.

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