The Austrian heiress chose 50 people to decide how to distribute her 146 million R$ fortune.
+ The recording of a phone call in Nicolas Cage’s new horror film terrifies the curious
Marlene Engelhorn, 32 years old, inherited tens of millions of euros from her grandmother and decided not to keep the money for herself. To distribute her fortune, she sought help from strangers. Last year, Engelhorn sent an invitation to 10,000 randomly selected Austrians to respond to a survey.
Subsequently, 50 people were chosen to form an advisory council that would advise Engelhorn on how to spend her inheritance of over 140 million R$. After the group was formed, the Austrian-German heiress no longer participated in the process.
Engelhorn believes she does not have the right to decide how money she did not earn should be used. “My wealth was accumulated before I was born,” she wrote in a statement at the time. “We super rich are getting richer and richer, with money flowing into our pockets every day like a magnet.”
The council included people of different ages, from 17 to 85 years old, with varying income levels, educational backgrounds, and views on wealth distribution. The group was led by an eight-person team and received guidance from academics and experts.
Last Tuesday, after meetings held over six weekends, the group of 50 people, known as “Guter Rat” or Good Advice, announced that the money would be distributed to 77 organizations working to improve environmental protection, education, health, and social issues.
The selected institutions will receive amounts ranging from 40,000 to 1.6 million euros. Among the beneficiaries are the Austrian Nature Conservation Association and Nuenerhaus, an organization assisting the homeless.
Project manager Alexandra Wang reflected on the group’s choices at a press conference: “The outcome is as diverse as the council itself. But what unites all decisions is the desire for a fairer society… to support those who are discriminated against.”
This content was created with the help of AI.