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Pope Leo XIV might've made a powerful enemy, with Elon Musk responding after the head of the Catholic Church seemed to call out the tech billionaire.
With some claiming the current Pope is 'woke' for his progressive views on climate change and the rights of migrants, the first-ever American-born Pope (and potentially the last) has been called out by others over his views on the LGBTQ+ community and abortion.
When it comes to American politics, it's said that Pope Leo XIV voted Republican in 2012, 2014, and 2016, but when it comes to 2024, the fact that Illinois voters don't register as members of a political party means he's listed as 'undeclared'.
After previously being critical of President Trump's current term, Leo XIV has turned his attention to Elon Musk. While Musk was briefly overtaken by Oracle's Larry Ellison to become the world's richest man, he's now back in first place.
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Boasting a jaw-dropping $477.6 billion net worth, Musk isn't exactly walking around with empty pockets, which is something that hasn't gone unnoticed by Pope Leo XIV. The Holy Father's first media interview saw him refusing to hold back as he called Mr. Musk to task over his massive bank balance.
The interview was conducted for an upcoming biography, with the Pope questioning the Tesla compensation plan that could see Musk become the world's first trillionaire.
Discussing the current state of the world, Pope LEO said: "CEOs that 60 years ago might have been making four to six times more than what the workers are receiving [...] 600 times more [now]."
Putting his focus specifically on Musk, the Pope concluded: "Yesterday [there was] 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."
Amid jokes that Elon Musk is constantly online, the Pope's jibe landed on his radar. One person took to X and stated that the estimated total wealth of the Vatican is nearing $2 trillion.
It's alleged that the Catholic Church owns 200 million acres of land, enjoys tax exemptions, and has an endowment with investments of over $100 billion.
This was music to Musk's ears, who requoted the post with a passage from the Bible that read: "'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)."
"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). https://t.co/0kZyULAss8
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 16, 2025
An argument between the world's richest man and the Pope might sound like something from a dystopian episode of Black Mirror, but here we are in 2025.
As you can imagine, the replies to Musk's post were divided.
One supporter wrote: "I am lifelong Catholic. The Vatican's wealth disgusts me. The Vatican's secrets disgust me. There is no way anyone can ever prove to me that Christ would approve of either. Having said that, the "Church" is so much more than the Vatican. Thankfully."
Another added: "The church pays zero taxes, on the other hand, Elon will have to pay apx $400 billion in taxes if he pulls off a miracle (thank you Jesus in advance 😊)."
Still, a critic chimed in saying: "Elon, for whatever criticisms may be accurate of the Catholic Church, the Church and its affiliate organizations operate thousands of hospitals, schools, orphanages, refugee camps, and other humanitarian operations globally serving millions of our poorest neighbors."
A fourth concluded: "Rich coming from you. You’re stirring up so much hate on here, you’re going to lose half the people using this site. The things you’ve been saying are scary!"
The current score stands at one all for Pope Leo XIV and Elon Musk, but who will swing the next punch?
