When the world’s wealthiest technocrat refuses to clap for a pop star calling out billionaires, the internet notices everything.
Mark Zuckerberg found himself in an awkward spotlight at the WSJ Magazine’s 2025 Innovator Awards on Wednesday, Oct. 29, in New York City.
The Meta CEO sat stone-faced in a room full of wealthy and powerful guests as Billie Eilish, the evening’s Music Innovator Award recipient, delivered a pointed message about wealth inequality. While accepting her honor for raising $11.5 million for organizations addressing food insecurity and climate change through her nonprofit Support + Feed, the nine-time Grammy winner didn’t mince words, according to Billboard.
She looked out at the room of supremely wealthy guests, including Zuckerberg, whose Forbes-estimated net worth of $222 billion makes him the fifth-richest person in the world, alongside Elon Musk’s wife, Priscilla Chan, who was honored that night for her philanthropy work as head of CZI.
Eilish then took the podium to deliver what would become one of the most talked-about moments of the night.
“People need empathy and help in our country,” the 23-year-old artist told the star-studded audience. She proceeded to deliver a blunt call to action directly to the heavy hitters in the room.
“I’d say if you have the money, it would be great to use it for good things and give it to some people that need it,” Eilish told the crowd. “Love you all, but there’s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me. If you’re not using it, give it to somebody that need it.”
She closed with an unforgettable line: “No hate, but give your money away, shorties.”
Zuckerberg’s response, or lack thereof, spoke volumes.
As Eilish delivered her passionate plea, the tech billionaire notably did not clap during her remarks, a detail that social media users were quick to pick up on and dissect.
The contrast between the two couldn’t be starker.
Eilish, whose net worth is estimated at $53 million, grew up poor in Highland Park, Los Angeles, where her family struggled financially and she only had one pair of shoes and a shirt. Her parents were actors who supplemented their income with odd jobs while homeschooling Billie and her brother Finneas.
Meanwhile, Zuckerberg did not grow up poor. Born in 1984 in White Plains, New York, to a well-educated family with a dentist father and psychiatrist mother, he was raised in a middle- to upper-middle-class neighborhood in Dobbs Ferry, according to Biography.com.
The internet had plenty to say about the awkward moment. Y! Entertainment readers weighed in with mixed opinions, with many calling her a hypocrite.
“When someone worth $50 million yells at others for how rich they are – you know it’s just their ego compensating,” one person wrote.
Another offered a different perspective, noting, ” Celebrities are getting worse with their self-delusions. A millionaire criticizing billionaires for being too wealthy is the height of hypocrisy.”
Others defended Eilish’s right to speak on wealth inequality.
“Gotta love people that pocket watch other people. Hey, if you donate money dont shame other for not? Oh and Im sure that stock has donated well over 11.5 million,” one person wrote.
Meanwhile, another commenter raised the bar for what would constitute meaningful action, stating, “It will truly make an impression when a celebrity refuses a paycheck over $100K and refuses to pollute with private jets, yachts, limousines, and the like.”
One reader attempted to explain the mechanics of billionaire wealth, writing, “These ‘billionaires’ are just ‘worth’ billions .. they don’t actually have it. They go to banks and trade Loans for stock.. then, they get the money… and dont have to pay taxes on it because it’s debt with a yearly pay tax on debt… and try to pay it.”
Just days earlier, during the first of her three-night Miami show on Oct. 9, Eilish experienced a jarring moment with fans. After performing “Guess,” she jumped off stage and walked along a barricade touching hands with fans. Her high five flow got interrupted when suddenly a concertgoer yanked her so hard that she fell beside the barricade. Security swiftly stepped in to push the individual back as surprised fans looked on.
Zuckerberg’s cold shoulder at the awards ceremony suggests Eilish’s message hit closer to home than he would have liked, and the internet’s mixed reactions prove that conversations about wealth and responsibility, especially with the cut of SNAP benefits across the nation, remain as complicated as ever.
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