Pope Leo, the head of the world’s largest Christian denomination, has expressed concern regarding the wealth of Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla. He stated that the rate at which Musk’s wealth is growing is a cause for concern. Leo suggests that the increasing wealth of individuals like Musk could exacerbate global challenges.
This statement was made during an interview published on the Catholic news website Crux, where Pope Leo discussed his worries about the increasing salaries of company CEOs compared to the wages of workers.
Pope Leo noted that 60 years ago, the salary difference between employees and CEOs was only six times, whereas today, it has reached 600 times. He also pointed out his concern that Elon Musk might become a trillionaire in a few years, highlighting the need to pay attention to this.
Leo believes that the current trends in the corporate world and the concentration of wealth in the hands of a few could potentially lead to future conflicts globally.
He emphasized that while the salaries of laborers are declining, the salaries of company CEOs and executives are increasing. Forbes estimates that Elon Musk currently holds a net worth of $463.2 billion.
An OXFAM report released in March 2025 revealed that CEO salaries saw an average increase of 50 percent in 2024 compared to 2019, while employee salaries only saw a minor increase of 0.9 percent during the same period.
There has been a considerable gap observed in salary increases between CEOs and employees in several countries, including India, the United States, the United Kingdom, and various European nations. Therefore, Pope Leo’s statement on this matter is considered important.
According to Amnesty International, in 2022, protests occurred in 148 out of 193 countries worldwide due to rising expenses for food, energy, and the cost of living. In Nepal and Bangladesh, Generation Z was actively involved in these protests.