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Billie Eilish Calls on Billionaires to Step Up Philanthropy at WSJ. Innovator Awards
New York, NY – Grammy and Oscar-winning artist Billie Eilish used her platform at Wednesday night’s WSJ. Magazine Innovator Awards to deliver a pointed message to the ultra-wealthy: donate more. Accepting the music award at the event held at the Museum of Modern Art, Eilish urged attendees, who included Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and “Star Wars” creator George Lucas, to address global issues with their vast resources.
“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,” Eilish stated. “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.”
Her call to action followed an introduction by late-night host Stephen Colbert, who announced Eilish’s personal commitment to donate $11.5 million from her “Hit Me Hard and Soft” tour proceeds to causes focusing on food equity, climate justice, and carbon pollution reduction.
Eilish, known for hits like “Bad Guy,” then directly addressed the affluent audience with a polite yet firm challenge. “Love you all, but there’s a few people in here who have a lot more money than me,” she remarked, eliciting a smattering of applause.
“And if you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? And no hate, but give your money away, shorties.”
Through her Changemaker Program, Eilish has been a long-time collaborator with the nonprofit Reverb, contributing to initiatives like the Music Decarbonization Project and the Music Climate Revolution alongside other prominent artists.
Also honored at the event was Priscilla Chan, who received the “Philanthropy of Science Innovator of the Year” award. A spokesperson for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Brandi Hoffine Barr, confirmed that Zuckerberg and Chan have pledged to donate 99% of their Meta shares to philanthropy over their lifetimes, having already granted $7 billion. Forbes estimates Zuckerberg’s current net worth to be approximately $224 billion.
Eilish’s comments resonate with growing global concerns about wealth concentration. A January report from Oxfam International, titled “Takers Not Makers,” revealed that 204 new billionaires emerged in 2024, with the ultra-rich increasing their wealth three times faster than in the previous year. Oxfam’s report predicted that at least five individuals could become trillionaires within the next decade and advocated for measures such as higher taxes on the wealthy, the breaking up of monopolies, CEO pay caps, and mandated living wages.
Historically, influential figures have urged the wealthy to be more philanthropic. In 1889, industrialist Andrew Carnegie penned “The Gospel of Wealth,” arguing that the rich should distribute their fortunes during their lifetimes to mitigate rising inequality. This sentiment was echoed in 2010 when Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates, and Warren Buffett established the Giving Pledge, a commitment for billionaires to donate over half their wealth either during their lives or upon their death.
Fifteen years later, 256 billionaires have taken the pledge, with 110 from the U.S. However, a recent report by the Charity Reform Initiative of the Institute for Policy Studies indicates that these U.S. pledgers represent only 13% of the total 876 billionaires in the country. The report also found that of the 22 deceased pledgers, only one had given away their entire fortune before death, and only eight had fulfilled the commitment of donating half or more of their wealth, with some estates still in resolution.
Chuck Collins, an author of the report and an expert at the Institute for Policy Studies, suggests that Eilish’s remarks highlight a growing awareness that economic systems often favor asset holders over wage earners. While he believes the Giving Pledge has fostered an expectation of philanthropy, he notes that many pledgers’ fortunes have continued to grow, necessitating more aggressive action to fulfill their commitments.
“In the end, philanthropy is not a substitute for a fair and effective tax system,” Collins stated. “The level of extreme inequality will require some form of restoring progressivity to the tax system, a wealth tax as well as progressive income tax.”