Billie Eilish, known for her candidness, made headlines during her acceptance speech for the Music Innovator Award at the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards held in New York City. The Grammy-winning artist used the platform to address the pressing issue of wealth inequality, directly calling out billionaires in attendance.
Eilish remarked, “We”re in a time right now where the world is really, really bad and really dark, and people need empathy and help more than, kind of, ever, especially in our country.” She urged those with significant wealth to consider using their resources for positive change, stating, “If you have money, it would be great to use it for good things, maybe give it to some people that need it.”
Continuing her bold commentary, she added, “Love you all, but there”s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me. If you”re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but yeah, give your money away, shorties.” Her remarks reportedly left Mark Zuckerberg, the billionaire CEO of Meta, visibly displeased, as he refrained from clapping along with other attendees such as Hailey Bieber, Spike Lee, and George Lucas.
Demonstrating her commitment to philanthropy, Eilish is set to donate proceeds from her upcoming “Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour” to various organizations focused on issues like food equity, climate justice, and reducing carbon pollution. Stephen Colbert, who presented her with the award, disclosed that her total donation would amount to $11.5 million.
While Eilish has an estimated net worth of around $50 million, Zuckerberg is among the wealthiest individuals globally, boasting a fortune of approximately $264 billion. To put this in perspective, the U.S. Department of Education”s budget was $268 billion for 2024, prior to an order by former President Trump aimed at dismantling it earlier this year.
Interestingly, it is not entirely clear why Zuckerberg was upset by Eilish”s comments, particularly since he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have pledged to donate 99 percent of their Facebook shares during their lifetimes and have made substantial charitable contributions through their Zuckerberg Chan Initiative. Nevertheless, Eilish”s implication that the very existence of billionaires and the minimal taxes they pay contribute to the widening gap between the rich and the poor struck a chord during her speech.
As the dialogue around wealth distribution continues, Eilish”s remarks have sparked conversations about the responsibilities of the ultra-wealthy in addressing societal issues.
