Pope Leo XIV warns of growing wealth inequality by referencing the massive compensation package for Tesla CEO Elon Musk, which could reach up to $1 trillion. In an interview with the Catholic media outlet Crux, released on the 14th, Pope Leo XIV expressed concerns about the implications of having the first trillionaire, stating, “If this is the only thing of value, we are facing a big problem.”
Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope elected in May, gave his first media interview since his inauguration. Crux released part of the interview on his 70th birthday.
On May 5th, American media reported that Tesla’s board had created a compensation package for Musk, awarding him 423,743,904 shares, equivalent to 12% of Tesla’s total common stock, over 12 instalments by 2035. The package could be worth up to $975 billion if all conditions, including Tesla’s market capitalization target, are met.
The Pope pointed out the growing disparity in compensation, noting, “60 years ago, CEOs earned 4 to 6 times more than workers. Recent figures show that now they earn 600 times more on average.” He suggested that this disparity might be linked to the loss of the “nobler meaning of human life” in some places.
He lamented the loss of values related to human life, family, and society, questioning, “If we lose our sense of these values, what then will be important?”
Parts of this interview will be included in the biography “Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Century,” set to be released in Spanish by Penguin Press in Peru on the 18th.