Topline
Musician Billie Eilish used an award acceptance speech Wednesday night—for which billionaire Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg was in the audience—to question why the mega-rich have allowed their wealth to accumulate and encourage billionaires to donate their money in a time “people need empathy and help in our country.”
Billie Eilish attends the WSJ. Magazine 2025 Innovator Awards at MoMA on Oct. 29, 2025 in New York City.
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Key Facts
Eilish was honored at the WSJ Magazine Innovator Awards for her contribution to the music industry and it was revealed at the event she’d be donating $11.5 million from her “Hit Me Hard and Soft” tour to The Changemaker Program, which addresses climate change and food insecurity.
In her acceptance speech, she encouraged anyone who has money “to use it for good things and give it to some people that need it.”
She specifically called out billionaires, adding, “Love you all, but there’s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me. If you are a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but give your money away, shorties.”
Zuckerberg, the fifth-richest person in the world with a net worth of $226 billion as of Thursday, was in attendance at the event in support of his wife Priscilla Chan, who was being honored for her work in philanthropy.
Eilish’s comment led to quiet laughter and applause, People magazine reported, adding that an unnamed “eyewitness in the audience” said Zuckerberg did not clap along with the rest of the audience.
Zuckerberg and Chan have given away more than $5 billion in their lifetimes, about 2% of their net worth, ranking them among Forbes’ most generous philanthropists.
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Crucial Quote
“I love Gen Z, they don’t give a f***,” fashion editor and stylist Gabriella Karefa-Johnson posted on Threads after hearing Eilish’s speech. “They will call Zuck an evil dork to his face, and thank god for that.”
Forbes Valuation
Zuckerberg was 19 when he founded the social media platform Facebook in 2004 and he took the company public in 2012. He is now among the richest people in the world and in 2010 signed The Giving Pledge, joining other billionaires in a promise to give the majority of their wealth to charitable causes. In 2015, Zuckerberg and Chan pledged they would give 99% of their shares in Facebook—worth $45 billion at the time—away to charity through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which focuses on healthcare and education.
Tangent
Criticism of billionaires, even by wealthy celebrities, has ramped up in recent years as the wealth gap in America continues to grow. Online children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel (Rachel Griffin-Accurso), who is estimated to have made $23 million in the last year, posted this week: “No one needs a billion dollars. People need food. The end.” Comedian Rosie O’Donnell called billionaire Jeff Bezos’s recent lavish wedding in Italy “gross excess” and, during the nuptials, actress Mia Farrow posted a photo of Bezos’ first wife, MacKenzie Scott, writing “How awesome is MacKenzie Scott! (Jeff Bezos first wife & mother of his four children). As of mid-December 2024, she had given a total of $19.3 billion to over 1600 charitable organizations.” Actor Daniel Craig shared his plans to give away his wealth several years ago, adding, “Isn’t there an old adage that if you die a rich person, you’ve failed?”