Some of his most vocal detractors have promoted the idea that Musk, like Trump, began his career backed by the deep pockets of dear old dad. [22] He is estranged from his son Elon. His children were reportedly influenced by his liberal political views. ", Five days later on Feb. 28, Business Insider SA published a second article with the headline, "Elon Musk's family owns an emerald mine in Zambia here's the fascinating story of how they came to own it.". "I said, 'Oh, all right.' So it was very formative for him. In April 2014, Dana Hull and Patrick May penned an article for San Jose's The Mercury News with the headline, "The otherworldly ambitions of Elon Musk." They still dont like it. Elon Musk Emerald Mine (Blood Emeralds & Apartheid?) We contacted Elon publicly on Twitter. More answers and details are available in Arnold's article. But little else is known about Errol outside of his native South Africa, where he has made a name for himself as a high-powered engineer, property developer and political advocate who vehemently opposed apartheid. And then thered still be all these notes sticking out, and wed sort of pull them out and put them in our pockets.. "She wasn't planned," Errol said of his youngest child. Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, grew up in South Africa and made his way via Canada to the U.S. as a transfer student before attending the Wharton School and becoming the billionaire tech founder he is today. @Keewa tweeted on May 9, 2020, Remind: Elon Musk inherited money from his fathers apartheid emerald mine, that doesnt mean hes clever. Beyond that, we were unable to find any evidence that showed money generated from his father's involvement in the mine helped Elon build his wealth in North America. "I'm naturally good at engineering that's because I inherited it from my father," he told Rolling Stone. The gist of the claim was that Elon's father, Errol Musk, who reports say has been estranged from his son for some time, owned an emerald mine during apartheid in South Africa, and that it was seed money from his father's wealth from the mine that made it possible for him to become the American billionaire he is today. Errol Musk was born in 1946 in Pretoria to Walter Henry James Musk and Cora Amelia Robinson. "My brother and I paid for college through scholarships, loans and working two jobs simultaneously. Errol made money by consulting and developing properties, Forbes reported. This story was picked up by other news outlets and peddled as a sign of the Musk family's "lavish lifestyle. Errol Musk (born 1946) is a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, consultant, and property developer who was once a co-owner of a Zambian emerald mine near Lake Tanganyika . We reached out to AskMen.com to ask if the fact that some of the pages were gone was a glitch, or if it was a purposeful partial removal. In the interview, Musk's father explained that he bought his share of the emerald mine after selling a plane. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done.". [2] His grandmother was the first chiropractor in Canada. However, both Elon and . Recently, Elon Musk had to set the record straight on a narrative spun over three years ago about his family owning an emerald mine in South Africa. Errol Musk (born 1946) is a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, sailor, consultant, and property developer who was once a co-owner of a Zambian emerald mine near Lake Tanganyika. [14], Musk was married to Heide Bezuidenhout for eighteen years and helped her raise her young daughter Jana Bezuidenhout, a child from a previous relationship. In an interview with Business Insider South Africa, Errol admitted that, at one point, he literally made more money than he could physically handle. He will plan evil, Elon tearfully told Rolling Stone in 2017. This article is actually accurate: https://t.co/eVpCX9V1NB. The story included reporting of Elon's denials that the emerald mine had provided any seed money for the wealth he would later accumulate. . The Onion, 22 Mar. Errol and his stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout, share two children. On July 3, 2020, Elon tweeted about the subject again, responding to a since-deleted tweet with, "I don't have an 'emerald mine,' nor was I given free money from anyone, inheritance or otherwise. Errol told Business Insider South Africa that he co-owned an emerald mine in Zambia. This is a pretty awful lie, Elon tweeted. Below we have provided a small sampling of the many different ways the rumor has been framed in past years. "Everybody I knew called him 'the Pig' because he treated me so badly in public. In 2018, Musk also told Business Insider that his father Errol purchased a 50 per cent share in the mine after selling a plane. Ashlee Vance interviewed hundreds of people. Elon Musk's Dad Tells BI About the Family's Casual Attitude to Wealth [11][5] Maye has stated that Errol beat her. Regardless of your opinion of him, he is aself-made billionaire." A post on Reddit mentioned a theory that said Elon "convinced these publications to remove the articles," but there's no evidence to support that. Elon Musk's father planned to fly a plane from South Africa to England and sell it once they got there. "A Teenage Elon Musk Once Casually Sold His Father's Emeralds to Tiffany & Co. Elon, by his father's recollection then probably 16 years old, and his brother Kimbal, decided to sell emeralds to Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue in New York . "They just walked into Tiffany's and said, 'Do you want to buy some emeralds?' Theyre the same, except for the fact that he is a billionaire, started multiple successful companies and doesnt live in his mothers basement. He had this sense that it was definitely not a safe place to be, and he had to get the hell out.. It was that lifestyle, Errol says, that turned Elon into the kind of merchant adventurer who would laterbreak the rules of the motoring businesswith Tesla, then go on tochange spaceflight with SpaceX, BI reported. This is not true," Elon told Rolling Stone in 2017. TheSouthAfrican.com is all about South Africa and the stories that affect South Africans, wherever they are in the world. "Tesla, Inc."Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tesla-Motors. His grandmother broke barriers of her own, becoming the first-ever chiropractor in Canada. He also sent a link to another interview he did with Elon in 2016. Shame on you, Onion. Born in 1971, Musk grew up in Pretoria, South Africa. The Tesla CEO has fathered 10 children. Errol Musk bought 50% of the emerald mine in 1969 for about 40,000, which is equal to about 160 000 today. He seemed very sad and lonely by himself. Vance wrote, "For what it's worth, my reporting, based on conversations with hundreds of people, confirms Musk's story. In the interview, the Tesla owner briefly mentioned that his father had a share in an emerald mine in Zambia. According to the story, in the mid-1980s, Errol and a copilot landed their plane near Lake Tanganyika in Zambia, where "a group of Italians" offered them 80,000 pounds in British currency in order to buy the plane. What Happened: Musk's comments came on a Twitter. However, again, the story was at least partially unavailable on that website, too. (We'll have more on Vance's Bloomberg.com interview later in this story.). The rumor of the "apartheid emerald mine" received a spike in shares around the time that Elon Musk completed his takeover of Twitter in late 2022. "There's no evidence whatsoever of an 'emerald mine,'" the last part of the tweet read. Elon has himself admitted that his father has a very high IQ and is brilliant at engineering.. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done. "I started my first company with $2,500, and I had one computer and a car that I bought for $1,400, and all that debt. Theyd seen I was sleeping in one morning, and they said, Oh lets just try, lets go.. But I didnt really understand at the time what kind of person he was. In a rare interview with Forbes, Errol revealed that his parents were the first to ever fly from South Africa to Australia in a single-engine airplane. "Elon Musk Tells Me His Secret Of Success (Hint: It Ain't About The Money)." It is still hard to discern whether this story is true and what conclusions can be drawn. The Musk name might be one of the most recognizable on the planet, but little is known about its patriarch, Errol Musk. Jain, Sanya. "I Talked to Elon Musk about Journalism and the Blood Emeralds Story." I wish. Once the Musk emerald story started circulating, and information about Musk's father Errol's past business dealings got out, a cavalcade of internet poo-pooers flocked to Twitter to lambast Musk . Elon Musk Once Called His Father, Errol Musk, a 'Terrible Human' In that way, Errol might be like estranged Elon after all. The constant resurfacing of the story is probably what spurred Musk into replying on Twitter. luis carruthers @orthereaboot tweeted, When the same pattern of racist behavior happens at all $tsla locations, its the company thats racist, and the fish rots from @elonmusks head.. "So we decided to head back to Lake Tanganyika from where we were, I think we were in Djibouti.". The child, a boy named Elliot Rush, is now 5 years old. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. "Like every abused woman, I was embarrassed, and I knew I had made a mistake, you know? I arrived by myself in Canada in 89 with ~CA$2500 Paid my own way through college, ending with ~$100k student debt Started 1st company with no funding & just one computer I built Theres no evidence whatsoever of an emerald mine, 2/2My father & his extended family have been dependent on financial support from my brother & me for over 20 years. EM: Company death not succeeding with the company causes me a lot more stress than physical danger. The narrative of Elon Musks wealth coming from his familys apartheid gains is one that started a few years ago when Business Insider wrote an article highlighting the Musk familys involvement in mining during SAs apartheid years. Errol also added that his children were keenly aware of the country's government-sanctioned racial segregation. Elon Musk helped his financially 'broke' father but on 1 condition My own (wonderful) mother told me I am ruthless and should learn to be more humane. But I love my children and would readily do whatever for them.. Related stories Making better AI is Elon Musk's new object of . To add to the truth, we went to Boston Chicken in Philadelphia for Thanksgiving because we couldnt afford a turkey. ", Elon has said one of the reasons he is so skilled at engineering is because of his father. Errol Musk Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements "The Richest Person In Every State And How They Made Their Money." To me, he sure is trying to make the world better right now, and that's the best thing he could do with his father's money. I was 15 and really wanted to go with him but didn't realize how dangerous it was. Image via Instagram @mayemusk. Errol Musk was born in Pretoria South Africa to Walter Henry James and Cora Amelia Robinson. Are you prioritizing your cable entertainment bill over protecting and investing in your family? According to media reports Errol reportedly owned an emerald mine in Zambia near Lake Tanganyika which enabled his family to live in luxury at the time. Errol named his price, and a deal was done. "One thing led to another you can call it God's plan or nature's plan. "I said, 'Oh, all right'. mark_able_jones_. While he has given a few rare interviews, much of the publicly known information about him has come from his estranged son Elon or his ex-wife Maye Musk, neither of whom have had complimentary things to say about the engineer and onetime emerald mine owner. ---. Here's what to know about Elon Musk's estranged father, Errol Musk. His father, Errol Musk, had a casual attitude towards the family's considerable wealth, including the stones that came from the Zambian emerald mine in which Errol owned a half share. It was that lifestyle, Errol says, that turned Elon into the kind of merchant adventurer who would later break the rules of the motoring business with Tesla, then go on to change spaceflight with SpaceX. People.Com, 7 Nov. 2022, https://people.com/human-interest/who-is-errol-musk-elon-musk-father/. "'His Family Stole an Emerald Mine.'" A common story about Musk on social media is that his father owned part of an emerald mine, providing a bedrock of wealth that buoyed Elon up to his current level of success. ", In 2018, he explained that he was helping Jana get over a breakup at the time of Rushi's conception, but he initially assumed the baby's father was Jana's ex. Here's a summary of our findings: We located reporting from as far back as 2009 and 2014 that said when Elon Musk ("Elon" hereafter) was a child in South Africa in the 1980s, his father ("Errol" hereafter) at some point owned "a stake in an emerald mine" near Lake Tanganyika in Zambia, not South Africa. Note: Some of the tweets that promoted the rumor said that Elon did not found Tesla, which was true. Errol was a successful consulting engineer, and also owned an emerald mine in Zambia. Clearly, Elon Musk doesn't like being mocked. Instead Errol returned to South Africa with a half-share in a Zambian emerald mine, which would help to fund his family's lavish lifestyle of yachts, skiing holidays, and expensive computers. Moneycontrol.com, 21 Sept. 2022, https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/elon-musk-hits-out-at-us-professor-over-emerald-mine-claims-idiot-and-liar-9208281.html. Earlier in this story, we referenced a July 3, 2020, tweet from Elon that mentioned Vance's interview. These tweets from December 2019 appeared to have stemmed, at least in part, from a since-deleted tweet from a user with the handle @1aprildaniels. Errol and Heide had two children together, Alexandra and Asha Rose. On Wednesday, Errol confirmed that he and Jana had welcomed a second child, a daughter who is now 3. Friend, Tad. Errol talked about Elons fascination with computers when they first came out in the mid-80s, during an interview on radio station 702 in Johannesburg, as reported by Forbes. The emerald mine story, reported in 2018 in Business Insider, tells how, in the mid-1980s, Errol acquired a half-share in a Zambian emerald mine, which would help to fund his familys lavish lifestyle of yachts, skiing holidays, and expensive computers.. ", Though he claimed Elon and Kimbal were upset with him for fathering a child with a woman they felt was "their sister," Errol told The Sun, "The only thing we are on Earth for is to reproduce. "'We Had so Much Money We Couldn't Even Close Our Safe': Elon Musk's Dad Tells BI about the Family's Insanely Casual Attitude to Wealth." We did not receive a response before this story was published. He has also dismissed rumors that his father co-owned a Zambian emerald mine, writing on Twitter in 2019: He didnt own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt. Heres his story. In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. Elon was a witness to this, bullets flying around, Cattrell further claimed. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day.. In the biography Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, author Ashlee Vance wrote that Errol invested $28,000 in Elon and Kimbal's then-fledgling company, Zip2. "Elon Musk Is the Hero America Deserves." He was married to Maye Musk and also to Heide Musk, with whom he has two children, Alexandra and Rose. Meanwhile, Elon has himself admitted that his father has a very high IQ and is brilliant at engineering. In 2017, he also told Rolling Stone that Errol was the youngest person to get a professional engineers qualification in South Africa., Im naturally good at engineering thats because I inherited it from my father, the worlds richest man stated. You can cancel anytime and if you cancel within 14 days you won't be billed. However, in the recent Channel 4 documentary Elon Musk: Superhero or Supervillain, co-founder of SpaceX, Jim Cattrell, claimed Elon was home at the time. R/EnoughMuskSpam via Reddit.com, 5 Dec. 2019, www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/e6j76f/his_family_stole_an_emerald_mine/. On Feb. 23, 2018, Business Insider SA published a story with the headline, "'We had so much money we couldn't even close our safe': Elon Musk's Dad tells BI about the family's insanely casual attitude to wealth." Elon Musk Gets Triggered By A Joke From 'The Onion' - Forbes They also emphasize anecdotes from Elon and his mother about the hard work and squalor they endured in Canada in those years. We did not receive a response from Forbes PR. Elon Musk: The Truth About His Dad and Emerald Mines - Trending "Elon Musk and the Emerald Mine." With a net worth of $37 billion, Musk hopes to revolutionize transportation on Earth and in space, bringing fully-electric vehicles to the mass market through his auto manufacturing company, Tesla. He will plan evil. 2014, https://www.newspapers.com/image/878211644/. Nothing, nothing. ", According to the story, Errol said that Elon "once walked the streets of New York with emeralds in his pocket." The most direct address was a tweet that said his father "didn't own an emerald mind [and] I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt.". [18][19] Musk described the first child as unplanned. Unlike his son, Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk, Errol has mostly flown under the radar, though the father of seven has had an increasingly public profile over the last few years, largely due to his complicated family relationships. Maye and Errol divorced in 1980 when Elon was about 9 years old. He once tweeted he arrived in 1989, not 1988, however. "Zip2." I said, Oh, all right. ", She added, "He was very rich, but he made sure I had nothing. After Maye and Errol divorced in 1980, Elon mostly lived with his father, who says he owned thoroughbred horses, a yacht, several houses and a Cessna. "The Man Who's Revolutionizing The Future Of Driving -- And The Universe." [9], Errol Musk's claims that he invested in Elon Musk's software company Zip2 have been rejected by Elon Musk. In the interview, Musk's father explained that he bought his share of the emerald mine after selling a plane to a group of Italians. ", Musk tackled it on Twitter as the story circulated, but his denials do not explicitly contradict his father's tale of the bizarre airplane-emerald mine trade. In South Africa, my father had a private plane we'd fly in incredibly dangerous weather and barely make it back. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done., He was such a terrible human being. We sought evidence in the case that they still had any documentation from past decades about the mine, the around $100,000 in student debt that Elon has repeatedly said he had accumulated during college, or anything else related to Elon's early finances that they have mentioned in past interviews. Errol Musk, an engineer, owned a small percentage of an emerald mine and had a couple of good years before the mine went bust and wiped out his investment. Errol and a co-pilot were flying a plane from. They still feel a bit creepy about it., They still dont like it, Errol admitted in a new interview withthe Sun: They still feel a bit creepy about it because shes their sister. Elon Musk, After Emerald Mine Twitter Spat, Says Father Errol Ran Out You could tell by the way that he told the story. In Errol's case, we sent a message to his Facebook profile. Arnold paraphrased his answers, publishing that he said "it was a handshake deal with a Panamanian man that resulted in something like 110 emeralds up front and then a semi-regular trickle of rough stones over a few years following," and that "there was never formal ownership.". "My [former] wife doesn't speak to me, even when we're together, she won't speak to me, so we haven't spoken to one other for 37 years. Elon Musk sets record straight on emerald mine and - TESLARATI
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