Why it matters: What better way to spark the public interest in rising wealth inequality than selling them popsicles shaped like tech billionaires on a hot summer day? A group of artists did just that, and it turns out many people absolutely love the idea of paying a premium for the privilege.
Over the past few months, we've seen several economists warn of a potential recession towards the end of the year. As the world emerged from lockdowns and returned to normal in-person activities, tech companies have seen their stocks plunge after hitting record highs one year ago, wiping hundreds of billions from their valuations and leading to layoffs and other cost-cutting measures.
Meanwhile, tech billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk pay little to no taxes and can leverage billions in stock to take a trip to low earth orbit and buy companies on a whim. As usual, this has reignited the "eat the rich" sentiment among people who are struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living and especially younger folks who are increasingly frustrated with wealth inequality.
In response, an art collective known as MSCHF has taken the creative license to offer five of the world's wealthiest men as icy treats. The roaming art experiment is simply called "Eat the Rich" and offers customers the chance to consume Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Jack Ma in popsicle form for a few days.
Ironically, the privilege to "suck Zuck," "munch Musk," "bite Bezos," "gobble Gates," or "snack on Jack" will cost you $10 a piece. Still, when the ice cream trucks arrived in New York and Los Angeles on Tuesday, people rushed to cool down with one of the expensive icy treats, if only for a few moments. Apparently, people really love Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos popsicles, whether they hate the billionaires or not.