Stars at Breakthrough Prize buoy Silicon Valley moguls who embraced Trump

The annual Breakthrough Prize was created more than a decade ago by Mark Zuckerberg Sergey Brin and other Silicon Valley tech moguls to honor scientists for their great achievements in science and mechanism But this year s splashy glitzy awards ceremony truly lived up to its nicknames Billionaire s Ball and the Oscars of Science with the scientists and their breakthroughs such as the pioneering work of UC San Francisco neurology professor Dr Stephen Hauser taking a backseat to all the Hollywood stars and Donald Trump-era oligarchs like Zuckerberg Brin Jeff Bezos or Lauren Sanchez in attendance In fact the timing of the th annual event in Santa Monica made for a few awkward even a few would say problematic optics and messaging for these celebrities On one hand these A-listers could say they came out to celebrate an key cause funding scientific innovation to improve the lives and future of people and the planet On the other hand they were seen reveling in oligarchic extravagance over the weekend after the global business activity and America s standing in the world plunged into turmoil following Trump s announcement last week of sweeping tariffs on greater part U S trading partners Already critics have begun to call out certain A-listers for lending their popularity to billionaires like Bezos and Sanchez who seem to need help laundering their embattled reputations after acquiescing to Trump before and after the polling As regular people s retirement savings disappeared in the ongoing stock region crash or families face the prospect of higher consumer prices or of even losing their livelihoods in a doable recession Gwyneth Paltrow Gayle King Katy Perry Drew Barrymore Kate Hudson Paris Hilton Lily Collins Jessica Chastain Rob Lowe Gal Gadot Olivia Wilde Salma Hayek Zoe Salda a and James Corden all got headlines by glamming it up walking the red carpet and lavishly partying with Zuckerberg Priscilla Chan Sergey Brin Bezos and Sanchez WASHINGTON DC JANUARY Guests including Mark Zuckerberg Lauren Sanchez Jeff Bezos Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk attend the Inauguration of Donald J Trump in the U S Capitol Rotunda on January in Washington DC Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the th president of the United States Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson Pool Getty Images These five billionaires are among specific of the same oligarchs who celebrated Trump s incoming presidency by standing with him in a display of their own wealth and power at his inauguration in the U S Capitol two months earlier Bezos and Sanchez also dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago after his Nov triumph while Sanchez boasted about enjoying a magical evening at one of Trump s inauguration parties Executive Chairman of Amazon Jeff Bezos R and US author Lauren Sanchez attend the th Breakthrough Prize ceremony at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica California on April Photo by Michael Tran AFP Photo by MICHAEL TRAN AFP via Getty Images At Saturday night s gala Paltrow gleefully posed for a selfie with Chamath Palihapitiya a venture capitalist podcaster and former Facebook executive who hosted a fundraising event for Trump in San Francisco last year and who was on X over the weekend defending Trump s tariffs the Daily Mail broadcasted Meanwhile Corden as the event s emcee made various uncomfortable jokes about the Dow dropping points last Friday According to The Hollywood Reporter the former late-night host teased the uber-wealthy attendees who also included Rupert Murdoch Bill Gates and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman by saying A lot of you have had a bad week The former late-night host quipped You know what I can see from up here I see a room full of people who are starting to worry that they might have to fly commercial again US actress Drew Barrymore attends the th Breakthrough Prize ceremony at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica California on April Photo by Michael Tran AFP Photo by MICHAEL TRAN AFP via Getty Images Corden then referred to the prize recipients scientists driving discoveries in gene editing human diseases and fundamentals in physics and sciences by noting that we ll definitely be helping fund their vital and groundbreaking research because every winner will go home tonight with million But Corden followed up by joking about practicable financial challenges facing various international winners due to Trump s actions I should warn you unfortunately due to several up-to-date tariffs international winners will in fact only now be going home with Corden noted Following Corden s opening remarks six Breakthrough Prizes were awarded to Hauser and other scientists Hauser shared his million prize with a Harvard professor for his research into MS and for emerging a recovery that overturned the scientific consensus on the mechanism of MS SANTA MONICA CALIFORNIA APRIL Katy Perry attends the th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at Barker Hangar on April in Santa Monica California Photo by Monica Schipper Getty Images While presenting an award Seth Rogen and Edward Norton got in particular indirect digs at specific Silicon Valley attendees including past guest Elon Musk who supported Trump in the Nov ballot according to the Hollywood Reporter After Norton praised those in the room who underwrote the gala with millions of dollars Rogen added And it s amazing that others in this room underwrote electing a man who in the last week single-handedly destroyed all of American science Rogen also announced It s amazing how much good science you can destroy with million and RFK Jr very fast Perry who walked the red carpet in a revealing but futuristic silver gown performed halfway through the ceremony followed by Alphabet CEO Brin who got to show off his fun-loving side by doing magic tricks with professional magician David Blaine according to the Hollywood Reporter The pop star and her friend Gayle King have come under fire in the past week for their decision to join Bezos s fiancee Sanchez on an -minute space flight aboard a Blue Origin rocket owned by the Amazon founder Perry King a co-anchor on CBS Mornings and Sanchez have tried to push a female empowerment narrative for the space flight saying the brief trip is historic because of its crew is all women However a growing chorus of people on social media and elsewhere aren t buying this narrative including actor Olivia Munn While appearing on Thursday s episode of In the current era With Jenna and Friends Munn criticized the star-studded crew whether historically all-female or not for what she sees as an excessive gluttonous waste of materials when regular people in America are hurting I know this is possibly obnoxious but like it s so much money to go to space and there s a lot of people who can t even afford eggs revealed The Newsroom actor referring to the important spike in egg prices over the last limited months Meanwhile others have slammed the space flight as a PR stunt on behalf of the oligarch couple Sanchez and Bezos You cannot rebrand oligarchy as feminism especially when the information is in our face every day noted Internet personality and entrepreneur Blakely Neiman Thornton He called the cover embarrassing for everyone involved