Pope Leo has commented on the recent speculation that Elon Musk could receive $1 trillion from Tesla.
Recently, it was suggested that Tesla aims to make Musk, who temporarily lost his status as the world’s richest person last week, the first trillionaire globally.
Under the proposed $1 trillion agreement, Musk might gain up to 423.7 million more shares of Tesla stock over the next ten years.
However, these shares will only be awarded if Tesla’s valuation reaches $8.5 trillion, approximately eight times its current worth.
Reports suggest that Tesla has expedited this substantial offer to focus more of Musk’s attention on the electric vehicle company rather than his political interests.
Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, commented on the situation to CNN: “The simple message the board is sending to Elon: ‘We want your attention on Tesla’.”
Munster added, “Implicit in that message is the promise that he’ll have the control he’s been seeking (a 25 percent stake) and that it will be worth his time.”
Reacting to the discussions about Musk’s potential compensation package, Pope Leo made a subtle criticism of Musk, who was born in South Africa.
In an interview with The Crux on his 70th birthday, Pope Leo remarked: “We live in times when polarization seems to be one of the words of the day, but it’s not helping anybody.”
He continued, “One which 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.”
The pontiff highlighted the stark contrast between the compensation of CEOs and their employees.
“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,” Pope Leo stated.
Specifically mentioning Musk, he observed, “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.”
The United States, where Pope Leo is from, hosts a significant portion of the world’s wealthiest individuals.
According to Visual Capitalist, 40 percent of centi-millionaires are based in the U.S., and about 30 percent of all billionaires live there as well.