Recommendations of the Editorial team
Billie Eilish has publicly dated Elon Musk criticized for his immense wealth and lack of social responsibility.
Just two weeks after urging billionaires to “give their money to people in need” at the WSJ Innovator Awards, Musk is once again moving closer to becoming the world’s first trillionaire. Thanks to an unrealistic compensation package from Tesla.
At the time, Eilish said in her acceptance speech: “No dislike, but yeah – give your money away.” Although Musk was not present, she now sent a clear message to him.
Billie Eilish’s tantrum on Instagram
On her Instagram Stories, Eilish shared several infographics from the activist movement “My Voice, My Choice” that show ways Musk could redistribute his immense wealth. Even if the tech mogul has not technically reached trillion status yet – Tesla’s market value would have to rise to $8.5 trillion for that to happen – the graphics offer realistic approaches for a fairer distribution.
“Fucking pathetic pussy bitch coward,” Eilish wrote on the shared posts.
“With 40 billion a year, Musk could end world hunger”
One of the posts showed that Musk could end world hunger within five years if he invested $40 billion annually. Other options: clean drinking water worldwide for $140 billion per year over seven years, protecting over 10,000 endangered animal species for $1 to 2 billion annually, or rebuilding Gaza and other devastated areas in the West Bank for $53.2 billion.
Eilish’s message: Musk probably won’t do any of these things – and that’s exactly the problem.
Eilish donates millions herself
At the WSJ Innovator Awards, the singer announced that she would donate $11.5 million from her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour to various organizations and charities. “There are some people here who have a lot more money than me,” she said at the time. “If you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire?”
Inequality continues to grow
A 2024 report by the aid organization Oxfam highlights the growing gap between rich and poor since the start of the pandemic in 2020. “The enormous concentration of global corporate and monopoly power is exacerbating inequality throughout the economy,” it says. Companies would “accumulate more and more wealth for their rich owners” through exploitation of workers, tax avoidance, privatization of state structures and climate destruction.
Oxfam’s demand: “To end extreme inequality, governments must radically redistribute the power of billionaires and corporations – back to the people.”