- Catholic leader warns of rising inequality and growing economic divide worldwide.
- Pope Leo XIV says CEOs earned just six times more than workers decades ago.
- Elon Musk must hit 12 Tesla targets to unlock his $1 trillion compensation plan.
Earlier this month, Tesla announced a colossal pay package for Elon Musk that will dwarf the $56 billion in compensation he had been set to receive, but has instead been rejected multiple times by a US judge. Should Musk achieves all of his objectives, he could be granted over 423 million shares and total compensation worth approximately $1 trillion.
Read: Elon’s $1 Trillion Payday Only Requires A Little World Domination, Nothing Major
Word of this insane amount has reached even Pope Leo XIV. While recently speaking to the media for his first in-depth interview since being elected as the leader of the Catholic church, His Excellency expressed his dismay at the widening wealth gap between the working class and the ultra-wealthy, suggesting it’s one of the reasons for growing polarization inside and outside the church.
A Different Kind of Wealth Gap
“One [factor] I think is very significant is the continuously wider gap between the income levels of the working class and the money that the wealthiest receive,” he told CruxNow. “For example, CEOs that 60 years ago might have been making four to six times more than what the workers are receiving, the last figure I saw, it’s 600 times more than what average workers are receiving.”
Reflecting on the Musk headlines, he added: “Yesterday 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…”
Musk’s Burgeoning Wealth
With a current net worth of $463.2 billion, Elon Musk is already well on his way to becoming the first trillionaire in history. However, he faces an uphill battle to get his $1 trillion compensation package.
In addition to being required to grow Tesla’s valuation to $8.5 trillion by 2035, Elon Musk must help Tesla achieve at least $400 billion in sustained annual adjusted EBITA. Beyond that, Musk must oversee the launch of 1 million fully autonomous robotaxis in commercial service, along with at least 1 million Optimus AI bots delivered to customers. And all of this is contingent on him remaining at the helm of Tesla for the better part of the next decade.
