The groundbreaking and inspiring news of this month in Austria made it to the New York Times and AlJazeera front pages:
Group of Austrians Picks 77 Charities to Receive Heiress’s Fortune:
Marlene Engelhorn, a descendant of the founder of one of the world’s largest chemical companies, decided to give away most of her inheritance. (NYT, June 19, 2024)
Austrian group finalises 25-million-euro giveaway of heiress’s money:
A total of 77 organisations will receive funds from Austrian-German heiress Marlene Engelhorn’s inheritence. (Aljazeera June 18, 2024)
“Each organization will receive an amount ranging from €40,000 (roughly $43,000) to €1.6 million ($1.7 million).”
This and similar radical decisions aim to restore global justice and equitable distribution of wealth. This path may be leading to limiting and eventually abolishing the antiquated tradition of excessive personal inheritance, which keeps millions and billions of dollars in the hands of a small percentage of the world population.
The Second Enlightenment is being actualized when we witness individuals such as these Austrian citizens taking important steps to reshape the future of our world in a more humane fashion. (For further discussion, please see the essay “How About Limiting Personal Inheritance?” in the Homepage of this website.)