‘Eat The Rich’ Popsicles Draw New Yorkers Opining On Elon Musk’s Twitter Deal

No, it’s not the ranking of the world’s richest people on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. It’s the order in which ice pops in the shape of their faces sold out from an unassuming ice cream truck on a corner outside the opulent Trump International Hotel & Tower in Manhattan — in a stunt called “Eat the Rich” from the Brooklyn artist collective, MSCHF.

The group, which previously partnered with Lil Nas X to create the viral “Satan Shoes” with a drop of human blood, prompting a Nike Inc. lawsuit, is offering a limited number of the $10 treats over three days in New York and Los Angeles. On Monday near the south side of Central Park, it drew a mix of passersby who had conflicting views on Musk’s attempt to ditch his $44 billion bid to buy Twitter Inc.

“There are no consequences for him, that’s why he backed out,” said Domenico Barbieri, 25, as he was between bites of Bill Gates, the Microsoft Corp. co-founder worth $115.5 billion. “A billion dollars to back out is nothing to him.” 

Musk, the co-founder of Tesla Inc., is the world’s richest person with a fortune of $215 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. While his wealth dropped almost $12 billion on Monday alone, he’s still well ahead of Bezos, who is second on the list with a net worth of about $135 billion.

Musk, 51, is trying to end his agreement to buy Twitter and take it private by alleging that the company misrepresented the number of automated accounts known as spam bots.

“I only wanted him to buy it because I knew it was a terrible financial decision,” said Abir Rahman, who was returning home from his job downtown and stopped for a frozen treat in the shape of Jack Ma, the co-founder of Alibaba Group. He’s worth $37.3 billion, according to the Bloomberg wealth index.

Depending how the dispute plays out in court, Musk may owe Twitter $1 billion for breaching his contract, or the company may use its so-called specific performance rights to demand the judge force him to see through his $44 billion purchase.

To self-described “Elon stans” like Lester Leong, it’s all “4D chess on his part.”

“I feel like all of this is kind of just a way for him to renegotiate that bid, bring it down a little bit further,” Leong, 35, said. “He’s like a meme. You never know what he’s going to do next.”

As for MSCHF, a venture-capital backed company that specializes in viral marketing stunts, the mid-summer treats are its latest in a string of “drops” that included “wavy baby” sneakers that led to a trademark suit from Vans. It settled earlier this year over the Satan shoes with Nike, the company co-founded by Phil Knight, who along with his family has a $40 billion fortune. 

While the latest project alludes to a popular phrase from Jean-Jacques Rosseau, the renowned 18th century French Enlightenment philosopher, it has come back in vogue in recent years, when billionaires saw their wealth balloon while many lost their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I think ‘eat the rich’ is just a culturally relevant saying, and being able to turn it into a product and experience is amazing,” said Daniel Greenberg, MSCHF’s chief revenue officer.

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