Marlene Engelhorn

Marlene Engelhorn (born 1992) is an Austrian and German

A descendant of Friedrich Engelhorn from the family who founded the chemical industry concern BASF and granddaughter of , Engelhorn inherited a considerable fortune from her grandmother, , 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 In 2024, she did the latter.

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 the granddaughter of and , 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 left the university between 2015 and 2019 in order to teach, translate, and tutor. She returned in 2019 and received her bachelor's degree in 2021. She would like to work as proofreader for a publishing company. In 2024, more than 250 people, including Abigail Disney, heiress from Disney family, Brian Cox, from HBO series Succession, and Valerie Rockefeller, had joined her in this initiative.

Engelhorn's grandmother died in September 2022, and Engelhorn inherited around €25 million. Engelhorn said she would donate 90% of it. Work sessions were organized between March and June 2024 in Salzburg.

In July 2025, Engelhorn estimated that one third of the funds which she gave to the "Good Council" had been distributed. She has continued her activism, and portrays herself in a play titled GELD IST KLASSE . Although she continues to live off of what remains of her inheritance, she has stated her intent to be self-sufficient by 2026.

In August 2025, Engelhorn joined a flotilla bound for Gaza.

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.

Publications