class=”sc-cffd1e67-0 fmXrkB”>
How can you be so selfless? Instead of treating herself to a life of luxury, German-Austrian heiress Marlene Engelhorn (31) is giving away most of her fortune. WDR reports this.
About 90 percent of their 27 million euros (25.2 million francs) should go to the general public. It’s hard to believe: the social activist can’t even decide who the money goes to.
Instead, an independent commission called the “Good Council for Redistribution” should decide who gets to benefit from the millions. As can be seen from a website set up especially for this project, this committee consists of 50 randomly selected people.
Heiress wants to keep two million
The chosen ones meet for six weekends in the spring and, with the help of experts, determine who the money will go to. The only condition: the money may not be used for unconstitutional, anti-life, inhumane and profit-oriented purposes.
As the report goes on to say, the heiress, who will keep only two million of the inheritance for herself, wants to use the campaign to combat the unequal distribution of wealth. The richest percentage of the population owns almost half of all wealth. According to Engelhorn, this has a negative impact on the social structure, the political system and the media landscape. “This puts democracy at risk due to the disproportionate influence of a few wealthy people,” says Engelhorn.
Deal with Swiss company earned the Engelhorns billions
But how does Engelhorn even get so much money? The 31-year-old is the great-great-great-granddaughter of BASF founder Friedrich Engelhorn. With an annual turnover of almost 60 billion euros, it is the largest chemical company in the world. The listed company is based in Ludwigshafen am Rhein.
When the grandmother of the millionaire heiress died in 2022, she already inherited part of the then 94-year-old’s fortune. Forbes magazine estimated this at the time at 4.2 billion euros (the equivalent of 3.9 billion francs).
Most of the money came from a deal with the Swiss company Hoffmann-La Roche, now the pharmaceutical company Roche based in Basel. The Engelhorns sold the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Mannheim to Hoffmann-La Roche in 1997. (dzc)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
