Billie Eilish Condemns Billionaires for Excess Amid Philanthropy Praise

By Zoe Papadakis | Thursday, 30 October 2025 12:54 PM EDT

Billie Eilish criticized the wealthy during her acceptance speech at The Wall Street Journal Magazine’s Innovator Awards, urging billionaires to support those in need and questioning their accumulation of wealth. The nine-time Grammy winner received the Music Innovator Award at Wednesday night’s ceremony, where “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert presented her with the prize.

Colbert highlighted that Eilish had raised $11.5 million through her “Hit Me Hard and Soft” tour to fund initiatives addressing food insecurity and climate change. During her speech, Eilish addressed a crowd including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose net worth of $228 billion places him among the world’s richest individuals.

“People need empathy and help in our country,” she said before turning to the ultra-wealthy. “If you have money, it would be great to use it for good things and give it to 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 are a billionaire, why are you a billionaire?”

Eilish concluded her remarks with, “No hate, but give your money away, shorties.” Her speech followed the publication of a WSJ Magazine profile in which she discussed her sustainability efforts in music and fashion.

“You can literally make all the same st with sustainable materials, and people just aren’t doing it,” she said. “The main thing I’ve learned working with companies and creating my own merch and perfume is that everyone can do it. It’s just that mostly they don’t.”

The $11.5 million raised through her tour will fund Eilish’s Changemaker Program, which supports organizations tackling hunger and environmental issues. Her tour also emphasizes sustainability, offering plant-based food options, merchandise made from recycled materials, biodegradable confetti, and encouraging fans to use public transit.

Eilish previously criticized excess in the music industry during a 2024 interview with Billboard, expressing frustration over artists creating unnecessary products to drive sales. “It’s some of the biggest artists in the world making fing 40 different vinyl packages just to get you to keep buying more,” she said.