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 technology.

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 11th annual event in Santa Monica made for some awkward — even, some would say, problematic — optics and messaging for these celebrities. On one hand, these A-listers could say they came out to celebrate an important 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 economy, and America’s standing in the world, plunged into turmoil, following Trump’s announcement last week of sweeping tariffs on most 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 election.

As regular people’s retirement savings disappeared in the ongoing stock market crash, or families face the prospect of higher consumer prices, or of even losing their livelihoods in a possible 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 Saldaña 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 20: 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 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. Donald Trump takes office for his second term as the 47th president of the United States. (Photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson – Pool/Getty Images) 

These five billionaires are among some 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. 5 victory, 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 11th Breakthrough Prize ceremony at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on April 5, 2025. (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 fundraiser for Trump in San Francisco last year and who was on X over the weekend, defending Trump’s tariffs, the Daily Mail reported.

Meanwhile, Corden, as the event’s emcee, made some uncomfortable jokes about the Dow dropping 2200 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 11th Breakthrough Prize ceremony at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California, on April 5, 2025. (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 actually be helping fund their vital and groundbreaking research, because every winner will go home tonight with $3 million.”

But Corden followed up by joking about possible financial challenges facing some international winners due to Trump’s actions.

“I should warn you, unfortunately, due to some recent tariffs, international winners will actually only now be going home with $45,000,” Corden said.

Following Corden’s opening remarks, six Breakthrough Prizes were awarded to Hauser and other scientists. Hauser shared his $3 million prize with a Harvard professor for his research into MS and for developing a treatment that “overturned the scientific consensus on the mechanism of MS.

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 05: Katy Perry attends the 11th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at Barker Hangar on April 05, 2025 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images) 

While presenting an award, Seth Rogen and Edward Norton got in some indirect digs at some Silicon Valley attendees, including past guest Elon Musk, who supported Trump in the Nov. 5 election, 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 said: “It’s amazing how much good science you can destroy with $320 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 11-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 “Today 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 resources when regular people in America are hurting.

“I know this is probably 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,” said “The Newsroom” actor, referring to the significant spike in egg prices over the last few 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,” said Internet personality and entrepreneur Blakely Neiman Thornton. He called the cover “embarrassing” for everyone involved.