Billie Eilish wants billionaires to donate more.

As the Grammy and Oscar winner accepted the music award at this year’s WSJ. Magazine Innovator Awards on Wednesday night, she urged the ultra-wealthy to address more of the world’s issues.

“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,” Eilish said to an audience that included Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, as well as “Star Wars” creator George Lucas. “I’d say if you have money, it would be great to use it for good things, maybe give it to some people that need it.”

Late-night host Stephen Colbert introduced Eilish onstage at New York’s Museum of Modern Art by announcing that she would donate $11.5 million of the proceeds from her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour to causes dedicated to food equity, climate justice and reducing carbon pollution.

In accepting the award, the “Bad Guy” singer added a polite but direct call to others in the room, saying a lot of people, especially in the U.S., could use some help right now.

“Love you all, but there’s a few people in here who have a lot more money than me,” she said, to a smattering of applause. “And if you’re a billionaire, why are you a billionaire? And no hate, but give your money away, shorties.”

Through her Changemaker Program, Eilish has worked with the nonprofit Reverb for years on its Music Decarbonization Project and its Music Climate Revolution initiative, alongside artists ranging from Dead & Company to Harry Styles.

Chan was also honored at the event, receiving the “Philanthropy of Science Innovator of the Year” award. A spokesperson for the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Brandi Hoffine Barr, said Zuckerberg and Chan have committed to giving away 99% of their Meta shares to philanthropy over the course of their lifetimes and have already granted out $7 billion. According to Forbes, Zuckerberg’s current net worth is around $224 billion.

Eilish’s comments come as the number of billionaires worldwide continues to grow, with 204 new billionaires added in 2024, according to a January report from Oxfam International titled “Takers Not Makers.”

The report found that the billionaires grew wealthier three times faster in 2024 than in 2023, pointing to an increased concentration of resources globally.

Oxfam predicted that at least five people will become trillionaires in the next decade, up from one person the year before. The group called for higher taxes on the rich and other measures to break up monopolies, cap CEO pay and require companies to pay living wages.

The wealthiest Americans have a long history of calling on each other to give away more of their money. In 1889, the steel magnate and industrialist Andrew Carnegie argued in the essay “The Gospel of Wealth” that the richest should give away their fortunes within their lifetimes, in part to lessen the sting of growing inequality.

In 2010, Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffett took up that call by creating the Giving Pledge, a commitment for billionaires to give away more than half their wealth in their lifetimes or when they die.

Fifteen years on, some 256 billionaires have taken the pledge, with 110 of them coming from the U.S., according to a recent report by the Charity Reform Initiative of the Institute for Policy Studies. Those U.S. billionaires represent 13% of the total 876 billionaires in the U.S., according to the report, revealing the small portion of the wealthiest people who have publicly committed to giving away their fortunes.

The report found that of the 22 billionaires who have died since taking the pledge, only one gave away his fortune before he died. Meanwhile, only eight of the 22 deceased pledgers fulfilled the commitment by giving away half of their wealth or more at their death, though some of their estates are still being resolved.

Chuck Collins, one of the authors of the report and an expert at the Institute for Policy Studies, said Eilish’s comments are part of a growing realization that the rules of the economy favor those with assets over those who earn wages.

He thinks the Giving Pledge has created an expectation and competition for the wealthiest to give away their money, but the fortunes of many of the pledgers have increased over time, meaning they will need to move even more aggressively if they are to fulfill the commitment.

“In the end, philanthropy is not a substitute for a fair and effective tax system,” Collins said. “The level of extreme inequality will require some form of restoring progressivity to the tax system, a wealth tax as well as progressive income tax.”

George Clooney has finally made peace his topmost priority.

As per the latest report by RadarOnline.com, the actor, who is currently starring as Jay Kelly in the film of the same name, is reportedly content with his domestic life and no longer chasing the limelight.

“He’s turned down several major offers this year simply because he couldn’t be bothered with the schedule,” said a source. 

The insider even added, “He’d rather be in Lake Como than on a film set.”

This claim aligns with Clooney’s own words during a recent TV interview, where he reflected on his current mindset.

“I am not in that mass rush to succeed anymore,” the 64-year-old admitted. 

The writer, director, and producer revealed he now prefers spending time with his twins, Alexander and Ella, whom he shares with his wife of 11 years, Amal Clooney.

“I’ve had my career in many ways, and things were winding down,” he shared. 

Before conclusion, he said, “I get to be home with my kids a lot, and it’s fun. I’m still young enough that I can run around with them.”

Ana de Armas and Tom Cruise’s upcoming movie Deeper is facing an unexpected delay amid the pair’s breakup.

The Mission Impossible star and the Ballerina actress parted ways weeks ago after nine months of their reported romance, and fans might not see the pair on the big screen, despite rehearsals already taking place in London.

According to internet personality Daniel Richtman, the production of the project has been put on hold after the film industry faced tariffs by US President Donald Trump, via Daily Mail.

It is pertinent to mention that Trump recently announced that any movie filmed outside of US will be charged a 100 per cent tariff.

Deeper tells the story of an astronaut on a voyage to explore the ocean.

Moreover, a source told US Weekly on October 30 that Ana and Tom’s romance first began after they “spent every day together” while “training for the intense underwater sequences” for their thriller.

“It started as a deep professional respect and then it ignited. Tom was completely captivated by Ana,” the insider added.

Sharing insights into their split, the tattler told the publisher that it was “Ana’s decision” to part ways as “she started to get a little uncomfortable with how fast” things were going between her and Tom.

However, the two “have a connection” and “they will see how things go in the future.”