Marlene Engelhorn, a rich 30-year-old woman from Vienna, campaigns for new taxation policies to allocate her inherited wealth and distribute it democratically. She is the co-founder of Tax Me Now, an organization that advocates for tax justice. But in modern developed society, Engelhorn’s “gifted” wealth is simply a “product of an unequal society.”
Rather than devoting money to personal passions, Engelhorn walks a path differently from her family. She believes that one shall not have the right to judge the value of their interest and spend all of their earnings on themselves. A controversial ideology, but Engelhorn emphasizes her pursuit of philanthropy, which she considers the only strategy to dismantle economic inequality. She could not bear to sit in joy while witnessing the community collapse under pressure. Thus, taxation exists as a significant factor in this chain of thoughts.
Living a privileged life, Engelhorn realizes how narrow she once viewed the world. Wealth seems to limit her scope of exploration rather than expand it with monetary power. Incentives add up to her determination for a change. She sought organizations of pro-tax millionaires, people who share a similar ideology as her. Instead of focusing on how to reallocate the money, the group first questioned the origin of their wealth inheritance and how it accumulated to its status today. Tax justice became a common objective among millionaires, aiming for an increase in tax for the riches to both improve public resources and redistribute political power to the hands of people who deserve it.
As Engelhorn’s activism gained popularity, she was praised by many and received many who reached out for financial support. On the whole, she removed at least 90% of her wealth through taxation rather than a donation. When the media interviewed her, she said “I am not even an expert. I am just really rich.”
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