Pope Leo, the world’s largest Christian religious leader, has made sharp remarks regarding the wealth of Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Pope Leo stated that the rate at which Musk’s wealth is increasing is a cause for concern. According to Leo, the increasing wealth of people like Musk could exacerbate problems worldwide.
Leo made this statement in an interview published on the Catholic news website Crux. The interview highlighted Leo’s concern about the rising salaries of company CEOs compared to those of laborers and employees.
According to Pope Leo, the gap between a company’s employee and CEO salaries was only six times 60 years ago, which has now reached 600 times. He also mentioned that he has heard that Elon Musk will become a trillionaire in a few years, which is a matter of concern requiring attention.
Leo believes that the deteriorating condition of corporations and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a single class could lead to new conflicts in the world.
Leo noted that while the salaries of laborers are continually decreasing, the salaries of company CEOs and those in the upper echelons are increasing. According to Forbes, Tesla’s Elon Musk currently has a net worth of $463.2 billion.
OXFAM released a report in March 2025, revealing that CEO salaries increased by an average of 50 percent in 2024 compared to 2019. Meanwhile, employee salaries saw a modest increase of only 0.9 percent during this period.
A significant disparity has been observed in salary increases between CEOs and employees in several countries, including India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and various European nations. Therefore, the way Pope Leo has raised this issue is considered quite significant.
According to Amnesty International, in 2022, protests were held in 148 out of 193 countries worldwide regarding rising costs of food, energy, and living expenses. In Nepal and Bangladesh, people from Generation Z participated in such protests.
