So here’s the thing about Billie Eilish—she’s never been one to hold back. The Grammy-winning superstar proved that once again at the WSJ Magazine’s 2025 Innovator Awards on Wednesday night (October 29, 2025), where she basically told a room full of billionaires to open their wallets and share the wealth.
While accepting her Music Innovator Award at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art, the 23-year-old pop sensation looked out at a crowd that included Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg and decided this was the perfect moment to deliver a message that’s been on a lot of people’s minds lately.
“I love you all but there’s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me,” Billie Eilish said during her speech. “And if you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire?”
But wait, it gets better. She wrapped up her pointed question with a five-word zinger that’s already going viral: “Give your money away, shorties.”
Now, before anyone thinks she’s just talking the talk, Billie Eilish is absolutely walking the walk. Right before her speech, host Stephen Colbert dropped some major news—the “Birds of a Feather” singer is donating a whopping $11.5 million from her Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour proceeds. The money will go toward food equity, climate justice, reducing carbon pollution, and combating the climate crisis.
That’s not pocket change, especially when you consider Billie Eilish’s net worth is estimated at around $50 million. She’s literally giving away nearly a quarter of her wealth to causes she believes in.
The timing of her billionaire callout wasn’t exactly subtle either. Mark Zuckerberg, whose Forbes-estimated net worth of $228 billion makes him the fifth richest man on the planet, was sitting right there in the audience. Talk about speaking truth to power.
“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,” Billie Eilish explained during her acceptance speech. “I’d say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things, maybe give it to some people that need it.”
The internet, predictably, went absolutely wild over the moment. Videos of her speech racked up millions of views across TikTok and Twitter within hours. Meanwhile, people couldn’t help but notice that, according to reports, Zuckerberg didn’t exactly join in the applause when she made her pointed comments about billionaire wealth.
At the end of the day, Billie Eilish used her platform to say what a lot of people are thinking. In a world where wealth inequality keeps growing, she’s not just asking questions—she’s putting her money where her mouth is and challenging others who have way more to do the same.