‘In big trouble’: Pope Leo warns against rising executive pay; raises concerns over Elon Musk’s trillionaire status

Pope Leo has criticized the 'widening gulf' between executive and worker salaries, pointing to Tesla’s $1 trillion compensation plan for CEO Elon Musk.“CEOs that 60 years ago might have been making four to six times more than what the workers are receiving … [are making] 600 times more now,” the pontiff said in his first media interview, released Sunday.He also referenced reports suggesting Musk could become the world’s first trillionaire. “If that is the only thing that has value anymore, then we’re in big trouble,” he warned.The remarks came a day after Nova Sky Stories, a drone company led by Musk’s brother Kimbal Musk, staged a show over the Vatican using 3,000 drones to form images from the Sistine Chapel and even the face of Pope Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, AP reported.The interview, conducted this summer by Vatican correspondent Elise Ann Allen for her forthcoming biography of Pope Leo, was published in excerpts by Allen’s Catholic outlet Crux and Peru’s daily El Comercio.Leo, who in May became the first American pope, also voiced concern over the state of global diplomacy, arguing that the United Nations has “lost its ability to bring people together on multilateral issues.”The late Pope Francis had elevated Leo to a senior Vatican post in 2023, signalling him as a likely successor. Still, Leo admitted he had not been fully prepared for the papacy. “There’s still a huge learning curve ahead of me,” he said, adding that while he had found his footing as a pastor, the challenge lay in serving as a global leader.The pontiff is expected to make his first foreign trip later this year with a visit to Lebanon, seen as an opportunity to address the region’s challenges, including the plight of Christian communities. He has repeatedly called for dialogue and peace in the Middle East, with particular focus on the war in Gaza.