Elon Musk is set to become the world’s first trillionaire, further widening the already massive pay gap between the rich and the rest of the world. During his first interview with the media, Pope Leo criticized the excessive pay packages received by people like Musk. The pope further stated that he felt that the “continuously wider gap between the income levels of the working class and the money that the wealthiest receive” was one of the major reasons the world is currently so polarized.
Pope Leo Speaks Out on the Widening Pay Gap Between Rich and Poor
Pope Leo was recently interviewed by a senior correspondent at Crux newspaper, Elise Ann Allen. In the interview, Pope Leo remarked that around 60 years ago, CEOs were typically making four to six times more than their workers. He went on to explain that nowadays, that number is closer to around 600 times more. “Yesterday [there was] the news that Elon Musk is going to be the first trillionaire in the world. What does that mean, and what’s that about? If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble,” said the pontiff.
This follows the board of Tesla’s announcement that if Musk hits the targets set by the company, he would receive a trillion-dollar payment. In order to receive this incentive package, Musk will have to increase the value of the company from $1 trillion to $8.5 trillion over a period of 10 years. Pope Leo was elected in May and recently celebrated his 70th birthday. When he led the midday prayers from St. Peter’s balcony, several people in the crowd held up signs wishing him a happy birthday as a band played a song in celebration of his 70th. Pope Leo then thanked “all those who have remembered me in their prayers.”
Missionary Years and the United Nations
During the interview, he also remarked on his years working in Peru as a missionary, the war between Russia and Ukraine, and the state of the United Nations. “The United Nations should be the place where many … issues are dealt with. Unfortunately, it seems to be generally recognized that the United Nations, at least at this moment in time, has lost its ability to bring people together on multilateral issues,” stated the pope. He also spoke about adapting to his new role as the pope, adding, “There’s still a huge learning curve ahead of me.”
He also stated that, at first, he felt prepared to lead the 1.4 billion Catholics of the world on spiritual matters. However, he added that he felt less prepared to play a big role on the global stage of diplomacy. He noted that “The totally new aspect to this job is being thrown onto the level of world leader. I’m learning a lot and feeling very challenged, but not overwhelmed. On that one, I had to jump in on the deep end of the pool very quickly.”
While Pope Leo shares many of the same progressive views as Pope Francis, the new pope seems to be more low-key when it comes to interviews. The former pope was often outspoken on his feelings about Trump, especially regarding his immigration policies. Pope Leo, though, has also spoken out on his feelings about Trump on X before becoming pope.
The Incentive Package Has Caused Much Debate
According to the chief executive of 50 Park Investments in New York, Adam Sarhan, “While bold compensation tied to performance is nothing new, the sheer scale here sets a new bar for CEO incentives and will dominate boardroom debates everywhere.” However, according to the board of Tesla, this record-breaking amount is required in order to keep Musk incentivized and focused on the job. Yet, critics of the incentive package have argued that he should already have plenty of motivation, considering he is the largest shareholder in the company. As a professor at Boston College Law School, Brian Quinn noted, “This is a ridiculously large pay package. It raises lots of questions, but last year Musk moved Tesla from Delaware to Texas in order to avoid all those questions.”
He added that Tesla’s stock price is basically all about the “vibes” and does not seem to have much to do with the actual performance of the automaker. Therefore, he suspects that they will approve the incentive package. Tesla has stated that Musk won’t receive any cash bonus or salary and that all compensation will be linked to his performance. It is hoped that he will spend more time focusing on the humanoid and robotics side of the company. Musk has previously stated that the Optimus humanoid robots could potentially eventually account for around 80% of the company’s value. This isn’t the first time Pope Leo has ‘called’ someone out, as he critiqued some of Trump’s policies in earlier this year.
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