23-year-old pop artist donates millions to climate justice and food equity, asks billionaires why they are billionaires
This October, American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish announced at the Wall Street Journal Magazine Innovator Awards she was donating millions of dollars to organisations such as 412 Food Rescue, Feeding America, and First Responders Children’s Foundation. She also called for others in the room to do the same, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
At the Innovator Awards during her introduction, it was announced that Eilish would contribute US$11.5 million, from her most recent world tour, to organizations promoting “food equity, climate justice, reducing carbon pollution, and combatting the climate crisis.”
It was when she went onstage to accept her award that Billie Eilish made her statement: “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. I’d say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things and maybe give it to some people that need it. 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,” said Eilish.
Wealth inequality in the world has been growing exponentially within the past few years. Research from Oxfam in 2023 shows that the wealthiest one per cent of the world have 45.6 per cent of global wealth. The U.S. is particularly notable, as the top one per cent of Americans per household have 987 times the wealth of the bottom 20 per centile. As of 2024, it was found that over 40 per cent of Americans are now considered low income. Canada’s wealth distribution is also facing disproportionate inequality, with the top 20 percentile getting 67.4 per cent of wealth. While the bottom 20 per cent of Canadians receive -0.1 per cent of wealth, and are essentially in debt.
Billie Eilish first rose to fame when she was only 13, when her single Ocean Eyes, written and produced by her brother FINNEAS, went viral. Now 23 years old, Billie Eilish has won nine Grammys, recorded three record-breaking albums, and gone on several successful world tours. She has also started her own merchandise company, and a vegan, cruelty-free perfume brand. Her net worth as of 2020 was estimated to be around US$53 million.
Eilish’s statement was received by the award ceremony’s audience, generating both laughter and applause. Notable attendees included Priscilla Chan, awarded for her work in philanthropy, and her husband Mark Zuckerberg, the fifth-richest person in the world. Zuckerberg and Chan have net worths of 189 billion and 30 billion USD respectively, and are ranked as one of the most generous Forbes philanthropists, having donated over 7 billion or two per cent of their net worth. Their contributions focus primarily around healthcare and education, including starting their Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which recently shifted its focus from funding schools and criminal justice reform to researching how AI can help science and biomedicine. Mark Zuckerberg was reported to have reacted to Eilish’s words without expression or applause.
This is not Eilish’s first time making a political statement. She has spoken in support of the people of Gaza and the Black Lives Matter movements, and frequently speaks about veganism and the climate crisis. As one of the youngest millionaires in the world, Billie Eilish is demonstrating ways that change can begin to happen.