This Year’s Met Gala Trend: Trolling Bezos and Billionaires

What’s driving anti-billionaire sentiment?

A new trend is emerging at this year’s Met Gala: open protest against the ultra-wealthy.

From video projections on the façade of nine-figure Manhattan penthouses to social media posts directed at Anna Wintour, protesters are staging demonstrations and alternative events in opposition to “the biggest night in fashion.” Some industry figures are boycotting the evening, which is sponsored by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez Bezos. The backlash reflects a broader frustration with extreme wealth.

As billionaire fortunes continue to grow — according to a UBS report, the combined wealth of billionaires reached $15.8 trillion last year, up 13% from 2024 — public resentment appears to be intensifying.

A 2025 Harris Poll found that 47% of respondents said they “despise billionaires,” up eight percentage points from the previous year. A majority also believe billionaires are overly celebrated in culture and blame them for contributing to a more unequal society.

These attitudes are also reflected in politics: California’s proposed “billionaire tax” has gathered enough signatures to reach the ballot, while New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani broke tradition by skipping the Met Gala.

On the ground, activist groups such as Everyone Hates Elon continue to push their agenda. Over the past year, the group has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for campaigns mocking billionaires at events such as the World Economic Forum in Davos and Bezos’ wedding in Venice.

New drama on the Met Gala red carpet

Since the announcement that Sánchez Bezos and Bezos would serve as lead sponsors and honorary chairs of this year’s Met Gala, social media has erupted with criticism.

While tech companies like TikTok and Apple have sponsored the gala in the past, and billionaires such as Bezos and Elon Musk have previously walked the red carpet, this is the first time a tech billionaire has been named an honorary chair — granting them the iconic photo opportunity on the Metropolitan Museum steps alongside Anna Wintour.

According to PeakMetrics, which analyzed posts across X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Reddit, and Bluesky, Met Gala-related content mentioning Bezos and Sánchez Bezos showed 70% negative sentiment and only 6% positive in the month leading up to the event.

Jennifer Pratt, director of marketing and communications at PeakMetrics, told Business Insider that online discourse portrays the couple as “symbolic figures representing the penetration of capital into cultural institutions,” with a strong focus on economic inequality. Similar reactions were triggered by recent images of Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg at fashion shows.

PeakMetrics also recorded 13,000 posts on X calling for a boycott of the event due to the Bezos family’s involvement, urging users not to watch coverage or purchase Vogue.

Who is being targeted?

Criticism has been largely directed at the Bezoses. Other billionaire attendees, including co-chair Beyoncé, have not faced the same level of backlash.

In March, Everyone Hates Elon — the same group that organized protests in Venice during Bezos and Sánchez Bezos’ wedding — launched a campaign to “ruin” the Met Gala for Bezos and “Trump’s billionaires,” raising over $22,000. Amazon employees also staged an alternative fashion show titled “The Ball Without Billionaires,” while protesters outside the venue held signs condemning billionaires and calling to “tax the rich.”

Criticism from within the industry

Discontent has also emerged within the fashion world. Sustainable fashion advocate Livia Giuggioli Firth, who has attended 10 Met Galas, posted a video on Instagram directed at Wintour, criticizing her for inviting the Bezos family and calling Bezos “one of the most unethical people in the world.”

Actor Sarah Paulson, while attending the gala, appeared to satirize wealth by wearing an oversized grey gown with a dollar bill covering her eyes.

Online, supporters of Bezos’ involvement noted that the event does not financially benefit the billionaire couple. The funds raised — a record $42 million — go to the Met’s Costume Institute. The museum declined to comment on public backlash or on the cost of the party, which is covered by sponsors.

And despite widespread criticism of billionaires, aspiration remains strong: according to The Harris Poll, 70% of respondents said they would like to become billionaires themselves.