Billie Eilish is putting her money where her mouth is.
The “Birds of a Feather” singer, 23, urged billionaires to donate their riches to people in need while speaking at a Wall Street Journal event, where she pledged to give nearly $12 million of her own earnings to charity.
“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,” she said on stage during WSJ. Magazine‘s 2025 Innovator Awards at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on Wednesday, October 29. “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.”
Eilish went on to make a bold plea to some of the top earners in the room, including Facebook cofounder Mark Zuckerberg, who is the fifth richest person in the world with a net worth of $230 billion, according to Forbes.
“Love you all, but there’s a few people in here that have a lot more money than me,” she said. “If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? No hate, but yeah. Give your money away, shorties!”
Many people in the audience clapped in response to Eilish’s comments, but an eyewitness told People that Zuckerberg, 41, did not.
Eilish was on hand to accept the Music Innovator Award, while Zuckerberg was there to support his wife, pediatrician Priscilla Chan, who received the Philanthropy in Science Innovator Award.
Other honorees in attendance included Hailey Bieber, who notably sold her Rhode skincare brand to e.l.f. Beauty for $1 billion in May, as well as Ben Stiller, Spike Lee and George Lucas.
Putting their money where their mouths are! In addition to walking the red carpet and living the glamorous life, these celebrities, including Angelina Jolie, Lauren Conrad, and Matt Damon, are working hard to make the world a better place. Read up on their charities!
Prior to Eilish’s speech, Stephen Colbert announced to the crowd that the nine-time Grammy and two-time Oscar winner would be donating $11.5 million in proceeds from her ongoing Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour to “support organizations, projects and voices dedicated to food equity, climate justice, reducing carbon pollution and combating the climate crisis.”
“That’s wonderful,” Colbert said. “Billie, on behalf of humans everywhere, thank you.”
While Zuckerberg and Chan, 40, are each multibillionaires now, they launched the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) in 2015 with the goal of donating 99 percent of their wealth from Facebook shares over their lifetime.
“Our initial areas of focus will be personalized learning, curing disease, connecting people and building strong communities,” the couple said in a statement at the time, adding, “We know this is a small contribution compared to all the resources and talents of those already working on these issues. But we want to do what we can, working alongside many others.”
Zuckerberg and Chan, who married in 2012, have given more than $7.2 billion to date, according to CZI.
They share three daughters: Maxima, 9, August, 8, and Aurelia, 2.
