American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish called out billionaires at The Wall Street Journal Magazine’s Innovator Awards 2025 this week.
“If you are a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but give your money away, shorties,”
Eilish said as she received the Music Innovator Award.
As the 23-year old musician accepted the recognition, she took the opportunity to make an appeal to the world’s billionaires, urging them to give more money to the people in need.
“We’re in a time right now where the world is really, really bad and really dark and people need empathy and help in our country,” said Eilish.
Eilish puts her money where her mouth is
It was announced at the event that Eilish donated $11.5 million to “The Changemaker Program”, a charity that leads climate action, as well as programs for food security, animal protection, and education across the globe.
The donation came from the proceeds from the singer’s Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour.
“I’d say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things and give it to some people that need it.”
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Mark Zuckerberg in the audience
Eilish’s statement was made while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg watched on from the audience.
Zuckerberg was present with his wife Priscilla Chan, who received an award for her contributions to science philanthropy.
The Meta CEO currently has an estimated net worth of $235,2 billion and ranks fifth among the richest billionaires, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index.
Eilish is known for her hits “Bad Guy”, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” and “Ocean Eyes” among many others.
She was the youngest and first female artist to sweep major Grammy Award categories in 2020, namely the Best New Artist, Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year.
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