Pope Leo XIV has condemned the growing economic inequality and record profits of the business elite, citing the personality of Ilon Musk as a worrying example.
The Pope criticised the huge gap between the incomes of prominent managers and ordinary workers. In his view, such inequality undermines “the value of human life, the family and society,” he said in an interview with the Catholic publication Crux.
Leo XIV paid particular attention to the wealth of Ilon Musk, calling the news that the entrepreneur could become the world’s first trillionaire a worrying example.
“Yesterday the news broke that Ilon Musk will become the world’s first trillionaire. What does that mean and what is it all about? If this is the only thing that still has value, we are in big trouble,” the pontiff said.
The Pope noted that CEOs used to earn four to six times more than ordinary workers, while today they earn hundreds of times more.
Musk’s fortune, tied to Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink and The Boring Company, is already estimated at about $367 billion and could exceed $1 trillion by 2027, according to analysts.