“We’re in big trouble”: Elon Musk fires back at Pope Leo with scripture after he singled the billionaire out for wealth inequality

Pope Leo XIV recently gave an interview for a soon-to-be-released biography titled Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the XXI Century. In an interview with Crux, a Catholic news organization, he touched on wealth inequality, peace, and the modern papacy.

The Pope questions Musk’s wealth

“Why is the world so polarized? What’s going on? I think there are a lot of elements that have led to this. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but I certainly see the reality in some of the results,” he said.

The Pope argued that economic inequality and how society views the “value of human life” play a major role in today’s divisions. He pointed to CEO salaries, noting that decades ago, leaders earned only four to six times more than workers, but now “it’s 600 times more than what average workers are receiving.

Moments later, Pope Leo shared his views on recent reports about Elon Musk’s projected wealth.

“Yesterday the news [reported] 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…”

Mixed reactions online

His comments about Musk quickly spread across social media. Many people praised the Pope for addressing the growing divide between billionaires and everyday workers.

Economist Tony Annett called it “An encouraging sign that Pope Leo is taking up the mantle from Pope Francis as the world’s moral conscience – singling out the compensation package of oligarchs like Musk.”

Another person on BlueSky appreciated the remarks, writing, “Good to see someone with a large (worldwide) platform calling out how the difference in CEO & Employee wages have increased exponentially.”

Nevertheless, critics pushed back. Some highlighted what they saw as hypocrisy, with @Sword_0f_Truths tweeting, “As he sits on his golden throne among a trove of pillaged ancient treasures.”

Others argued religion should not weigh in on economics and politics. @MayorOfBole wrote, “This is why I’m not persuaded by the argument for Christianity as a bulwark against communism.”

While many Catholics and non-Catholics alike viewed Pope Leo’s words positively, others dismissed them as overly political. @JonnyThePhoenix expressed frustration, posting, “One woke pope after another. If this is the direction Christianity takes, its toast. Leftism and Christianity are incompatible.” Meanwhile, humor also surfaced in the responses. A BlueSky user joked, “Pope Leo basically just told Musk to suck a D!” Another person simply added, “He’s quite a likable fellow.”

Musk fires back with scripture

Elon Musk eventually weighed in as well. On X, he tweeted a Bible passage alongside a quote-retweet about Vatican wealth, writing, “‘Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?’ (Matthew 7:3-5).”