One of the wealthiest men in the world flexed his power in an unusual way at a gathering with his rivals Saturday night in Santa Monica, CA. 

Rupert Murdoch, 94, snubbed his nose at tradition when he attended the 11th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony celebrating the greatest achievements in science and technology.

While younger and even wealthier billionaires such as Jeff Bezos, 61, Mark Zuckerberg, 40,  and Bill Gates, 69, wore tuxedoes with traditional dress shoes, the Fox News founder expressed his confidence and defied expectations wearing black sneakers with his tux. 

The rest of his look was more or less traditional although the media mogul opted for a standard black tie instead of a bow tie.  

Zuckerberg, competed in the game of one-upmanship, wearing all black and modeling a pair of Meta’s AI glasses. 

The Facebook founder and his wife, Priscilla Chan, were part of the group of Silicon Valley titans who created the event, often described as the Billionaire’s Ball, more than a decade ago.

One of the wealthiest men in the world flexed his power in an unusual way at a gathering with his rivals Saturday night in Santa Monica, CA

Rupert Murdoch, 94, snubbed his nose at tradition and wore black sneakers when he attended the 11th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony celebrating the greatest achievements in science and technology

On Saturday, they handed out multi-million dollar awards to many of the world’s top scientists for their groundbreaking research.

The billionaires and scientists rubbed shoulders with wealthy A-listers, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jodie Foster, Alicia Keys, Drew Barrymore, Christina Aguilera, Mr. Beast, Gayle King, Jeremy Strong, Jessica Chastain, Kate Hudson, Olivia Wilde, Rob Lowe, Glenn Close and Zoe Saldaña.

Host James Cordon teased the uber-wealthy audience by making reference to Friday’s stock market close in which the Dow dropped 2200 points, while the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower. 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was 5.82% lower as a reaction to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

‘A lot of you have had a bad week,’ the former late night host told the audience per The Hollywood Reporter. 

‘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.’ he quipped. 

Gal Gadot was one of the presenters for the evening and shared her personal experience while giving a posthumous prize to George Berci, an innovator in using miniature cameras in minimally invasive surgeries. 

‘A little over a year ago, I had a big health scare when I was eight months pregnant,’ she said. ‘I had debilitating headaches and I had no idea what was happening inside my head.’

Murdoch’s younger rivals, Jeff Bezos, 61, and Bill Gates 69, opted for more traditional footwear. Both wore black dress shoes with their tuxedoes for the big night often known as the Billionaires Ball 

Mark Zuckerberg, 40, competed in the game of one-upmanship, wearing all black and modeling a pair of Meta ‘s AI glasses

Gal Gadot, 39, was one of the presenters and explained how the science being honored that night had helped save her life during a recent health scare

‘I’m here today thanks to the amazing Cedars-Sinai Medical Center here in Los Angeles,’ the Snow White actress said.

‘Using MRI — a technology made possible, as we heard earlier, by particle physics — the doctors there discovered I had a blood clot. In fact, I had three major blood clots,’ she explained.

‘I’m kind of an all-or-nothing type of person, but I’m here today thanks to them and the technology that they use.’

Earlier on Saturday, Murdoch walked down the aisle for a fifth time, when he said ‘I do’ to retired molecular biologist Elena Zhukova, 67, at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles

The media magnate defied tradition again, wearing black sneakers with his suit. The bride wore an ankle-length off-white cocktail dress with a squared-off portrait neck and matching pumps

Earlier in the day, Murdoch pulled the same move with his footwear, donning black sneakers with his black suit, white shirt and gold tie when he walked down the aisle for a fifth time. 

The business magnate said ‘I do’ to retired molecular biologist Elena Zhukova, 67, in a small ceremony at his Tuscan-style vineyard in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles. 

The New York Times reported they appeared to be Hokas similar to the sustainably designed Transports model favored by President Joe Biden when he visited the US-Mexico border. 

 The bride, who was previously married to Russian billionaire Alexander Zhukov, chose traditional footwear, choosing an ankle-length off-white cocktail dress with a squared-off portrait neck and matching pumps.