In George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass triple album he has a song called Awaiting on You All in which he claimed that the Pope owned “51% of General Motors And the stock exchange is the only thing he’s qualified to quote us.”

Hmm…. So I wanted to Fact Check this startling claim. But how? Then the lights went on! The Tin Man! Artificial Intelligence.

So I put the question to him. This was his reply:

“No, the claim that the Pope owns 51% of General Motors was never true.

The lyric comes from George Harrison’s song “Awaiting on You All”, from his 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. The exact line is: “While the Pope owns 51% of General Motors / And the stock exchange is the only thing he’s qualified to quote us.”

Harrison used this as hyperbolic criticism of organized religion—specifically the Catholic Church’s perceived materialism and wealth—contrasting it with his advocacy for direct spiritual connection through chanting (influenced by his interest in Hinduism and Hare Krishna).

The verse was controversial enough that EMI/Capitol omitted it from the original album’s lyric sheet and some reissues.

There is no historical evidence that the Vatican or the Pope ever held a controlling (51%) stake in General Motors or any major corporation. The Vatican has long invested in diversified portfolios, including U.S. stocks like General Motors, General Electric, IBM, and others (especially from the 1930s onward under financier Bernardino Nogara, who built holdings in blue-chip companies post-1929 crash). These were significant but minority investments to generate income for church operations, not majority ownership.

The “51%” figure appears to be artistic exaggeration for rhetorical effect, possibly inspired by rumors or anti-Catholic conspiracy theories circulating in the 20th century about the Vatican’s vast (but secretive) wealth. Fact checks and historical analyses confirm it was never factual.
As for acoustic versions: An early demo of the song (from 1970 sessions, released on Early Takes: Volume 1 in 2012) includes the same lyric, so it was part of the song from the beginning—no notable variation there. If you’re thinking of a specific bootleg or live acoustic performance, the core line remains consistent across known recordings.

Tin Man Grok, AI