Austrian Heiress - She Gets It [View all]

[NowISeetheLight]

An Heiress, set to inherit a fortune, has asked the people for help spending it. She's asking 50 people to help her spend $27m. It's her way of addressing wealth inequality.

https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/austria-heiress-marlene-engelhorn-chosing-50-people-spend-27-million-wealth-guter-rat/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h

She has sent invitations to 10,000 randomly selected people in Austria, asking them to complete a survey. Out of those who complete it, she will narrow the pile down to 50 people of different backgrounds that she feels represent the Austrian population. 

They will become Guter Rat – which translates to Good Council – and will help her develop ideas for how to distribute $25 million euros – more than $27 million U.S. dollars.

In her mission statement, Engelhorn says her wealth was accumulated before she was even born. "It was accumulated because other people did the work, but my family was able to inherit the ownership of an enterprise and thus all claims to the fruits of its labour," she writes on the project's website. "

It so recognizes the problem of wealth inequality. The right wing is so big on "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" while at the same time ignoring the fact some people have so much of an advantage THEY DONT DO CRAP (excuse my French).

She so seems to get it.

In her mission statement, Engelhorn says her wealth was accumulated before she was even born. "It was accumulated because other people did the work, but my family was able to inherit the ownership of an enterprise and thus all claims to the fruits of its labour," she writes on the project's website.

Engelhorn doesn't want the family we are born into to determine if we have a good life. Instead of just donating the money herself, which she says "grants me power that I shouldn't have," she wants others to help her redistribute the money.

So, the council of 50 will meet over six weekends between March and June to have moderated discussions about how to use her wealth to create change. She will pay for their travel and stay during the conferences and will also compensate them.

The wealthiest 1% of the population in Austria holds 50% of the nation's net wealth, according to the Guter Rat website. Most of that 1% inherited their wealth, like Engelhorn.

Austria has no estate, inheritance, or wealth taxes and yet more than 2/3 of Austrians are in favor of taxes on wealth, according to Guter Rat.