Marlene Engelhorn

Marlene Engelhorn (born 1992, Vienna) is an Austrian and German activist and heiress known for advocating the reform of inheritance tax policies.

A descendant of Friedrich Engelhorn from the family who founded the chemical industry concern BASF, and granddaughter of Peter Engelhorn, Engelhorn inherited a considerable fortune from her grandmother, Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto, whose wealth was estimated at $4.2bn (€3.8bn). 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 or to donate 90% of her wealth.

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 and Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto, Marlene Engelhorn was born in Vienna in 1992. Like many from the local bourgeoisie, she studied in the Lycée Français de Vienne.

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

Awareness and tax activism
She mentioned she became aware of her wealth situation at the university, when she was in contact with ″normal″ people.

In 2021, she discovered she was going to inherit directly from her grandmother, Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto, whose wealth was estimated at $4.2bn (€3.8bn). 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.

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

Engelhorn's grandmother died in September 2022, and Engelhorn inherited around € 25 million. Engelhorn claimed she would donate 90% of it. She then created a Council for Redistribution: after sending 10 000 letters to Austrian citizens, 50 of them were selected to propose ideas which will benefit society in order to use Engelhorn fortune. Work sessions are organized between March and June 2024 in Salzburg. Engelhorn does not have any decision power on the conclusion of the debates.

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.