"But I mean, we were living together. You could tell by the way that he told the story. D'Innocenzio, Anne. A recurring theme on social media is the claim that Musks father owned an emerald mine and paid for his sons privileged upbringing and education. Musk has denied that story. He just had a rich dad and a got lucky. The same story appeared to have also been published the day before with the headline, "A teenage Elon Musk once casually sold his father's emeralds to Tiffany & Co. while his dad was sleeping. 2014, https://www.newspapers.com/image/878211644/. 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. "Like every abused woman, I was embarrassed, and I knew I had made a mistake, you know? Not for 'At Least' a Few Weeks, Says Elon Musk, Elon Musk's Ex Justine Calls Twitter Employees' Letter Protesting Reported Staff Cuts a 'Very Bad Idea', Elon Musk Says He's Buying Twitter to 'Help Humanity' And Doesn't Want It to Be 'Free-for-All Hellscape', Elon Musk Says Kanye West's Twitter Was Reinstated Before He Took Over the Company, Elon Musk Plans to Cut 75 Percent of Twitter's Workforce If He Takes Over the Company: Report. Business Insider South Africa, 28 Feb. 2018, https://www.businessinsider.co.za/how-elon-musks-family-came-to-own-an-emerald-mine-2018-2. Born in 1971, Musk grew up in Pretoria, South Africa. Errols other children we also shocked and uncomfortable about the surprise pregnancy. My Dad provided 10% of a ~$200k angel funding round much later, but by then risk was reduced & round would've happened anyway.". Elon was said to be particularly furious that his father had impregnated his stepsister. 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. Twitter, https://twitter.com/elonmusk/. ", According to the story, Errol said that Elon "once walked the streets of New York with emeralds in his pocket." We had so much money at times we couldn't even close our safe," Errol said, explaining that one person would hold the money down while a second would slam the safe door shut. [18][19] Musk described the first child as unplanned. Musk had earlier slammed Reich for misrepresenting his background in the post, which argued that "self-made billionaires are a myth" and named the SpaceX founder and other prominent business. What Happened: Musk's comments came on a Twitter. [2] In 1969, he became a 50% owner of an emerald mine on Lake Tanganyika,[2][5] that he bought for 40,000, funded by selling an airplane for 80,000 (the equivalent of 320,000 today). We reached out to Reich to ask if he could provide evidence of his assertion, but did not receive a response before this story was published. In a 2017 Rolling Stone cover story, the Tesla CEO described his childhood and revealed that he moved in with his father at eight years old after his parents split. Elon Musk isn't innovative. Fortier, Alexander. Elon Musk does not care about Black people.Example after example after example. You have no idea.. Whats very difficult for others is easy for me. ---. Bridges to Italy tweeted, Yeah, hes not that bright, just like the guy who started this thread. mark_able_jones_. First, we have republished past statements from both Errol and Elon. According to a Facebook post from Errol, the Zambian emerald mine he held a stake in "collapsed in 1989. [9], Errol Musk's claims that he invested in Elon Musk's software company Zip2 have been rejected by Elon Musk. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. He also added, "'Self-made billionaires' are a myth." Imgur, 5 Dec. 2019, https://imgur.com/SHGhIY2. Its obvious why Musk would want to distance himself from apartheid in every possible way. He was married to Maye Musk and also to Heide Musk, with whom he has two children, Alexandra and Rose. In a 2019 . Elon Musk addressed the recent social storm when claims related his familys emerald mines in apartheid-South Africa resurfaced online. The Musk name might be one of the most recognizable on the planet, but little is known about its patriarch, Errol Musk. So I thought, I can be company. Yeah, I was sad for my father. Elon has himself admitted that his father has a very high IQ and is brilliant at engineering.. It was kind of weird for them to walk into Tiffanys. "One thing led to another you can call it God's plan or nature's plan. Though Errol has made headlines in recent years after the births of his two youngest children, he seemingly avoids the spotlight. "And we got emeralds for the next six years.". Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done. 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. "We were going to fly into Jeddah and there was a religious holiday, and they said if we come in now we have to pay $2,000, but if we wait 10 days we can come in at no charge," he recalled to Business Insider. For a while, I thought things were so obvious that everyone must know this.". The interview is no longer available on the Forbes website. He would throw out everything they arrived with, so I had to buy them all new clothes and school things. Black Americans Have the Highest Mortality Rates But Lowest Levels of Life Insurance 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. This is not true," Elon told Rolling Stone in 2017. This story will be updated if any further details come to light. 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. An avid pilot and sailor, as well as an electrical and mechanical engineer, he made his money consulting and developing properties and retired early. On March 25, 2021, Elon Musktweetedthat the emerald mine inheritance rumor was false, and that he had arrived by himself in Canada in 1989 "with ~CA$2,500." @Keewa tweeted on May 9, 2020, Remind: Elon Musk inherited money from his fathers apartheid emerald mine, that doesnt mean hes clever. However, $800 was probably pocket change for the family, judging by what Musk's father told the site. [22] He is estranged from his son Elon. Note: Some of the tweets that promoted the rumor said that Elon did not found Tesla, which was true. Below we have provided a small sampling of the many different ways the rumor has been framed in past years. Inside the fabulous Dior couture world of 'Mrs. "Errol also quoted a lower number to me over the phone," Arnold wrote. In his interview with Business Insider South Africa, Errol said that he was to blame for his divorce from model Maye Musk, with whom he shares Elon, Kimbal and Tosca. "[4][8], In 1972, he was elected to the Pretoria City Council as a representative of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party. Errol and a co-pilot were flying a plane from. "There was just stacks of money and he paid me out, 80,000, it was a huge amount of money." Given Elon Musks interest in exploration and adventure, its no surprise he descends from intrepid stock, and its Errols side of the family that is seemingly responsible for his innovative, envelope-pushing genes. The Onion, 22 Mar. "Zip2." [10][11] Musk told Agence France-Presse that he was a strict father who raised his children with discipline and austerity. Errol was born in South Africa to a British mother and a South African father. Kimbal is a millionaire who owns restaurant chains and spearheads a nonprofit education program, The Kitchen Community, which grows vegetables in the U.S. Tosca is a film producer and director. de Wet, Phillip. In an interview with Business Insider South Africa, Errol admitted that, at one point, he literally made more money than he could physically handle. 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. Kaizer Chiefs to sign more Swallows players. He talks about the risk factors for Bitcoin as an investment asset including origin risk, speculative market structure, regulatory, and environment. 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. Musk may not be a great guy, but I fail to see any apartheid link to his fathers emerald mine., @grard97 tweeted, Remind: Elon Musk owns an electric and autonomous car companyA private space landing rockets companyAn AI companyA Neuroscience companyA Solar Panel and energy storage companyThe WHOLE bank on the internet was started by him (yes, your credit card as well), @C49015142 tweeted, I thought I read in Malcolm Gladwells book David and Goliath that his company received $500 million from the US government, so we are all subsidizing him. "Elon Musk's family owns an emerald mine" was corrected to "Elon Musk's family once owned an emerald mine." "Who Is Elon Musk's Estranged Father? Errol Musk, the familys patriarch, is in the news after confirming he fathered a second secret love child with his stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout, 35. And thats when Musk's father was offered half an emerald mine in return for half of his earnings. "A Teenage Elon Musk Once Casually Sold His Father's Emeralds to Tiffany & Co. He confirmed the birth of their daughter to The Sun in 2022. The Associated Press, 20 July 2021, https://apnews.com/article/business-science-3546262d41f4c84763aa15339f642a5a. . Standing with the cash in his hand, Errol was made another offer he couldnt refuse: Would he like to buy half an emerald mine for half of his new riches? He seemed very sad and lonely by himself. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. Reich, theformer secretary of labor under U.S. President Bill Clinton and a professor of public policy at University of California, Berkeley, had tweeted,"Elon Musk came from a family that owned an emerald mine in apartheid South Africa." By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. By Michael Hein ---. I was 15 and really wanted to go with him but didn't realize how dangerous it was. by Marilynn Manuel 13-02-2023 13:43 He's having a tantrum, like a spoilt child. Kaizer Chiefs to sign more Stellenbosch players? Musk responded about the time when the photo was clicked. "Elon Musk's Vision of an Electric-Car Future." In the interview, the Tesla owner briefly mentioned that his father had a share in an emerald mine in Zambia. The eccentric billionaire once again attempted to set the record straight about his familys emerald mines to respond to Twitter user @howlpolitically. The netizen claimed that the Business Insider article didnt show the real extent of the Musk family profiting from apartheid. 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." "So I became a half-owner of the mine, and we got emeralds for the next six years," Errol said. "They didn't like it.". ", Errol and Elon have an acrimonious relationship. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and his mother, Maye Musk. At 17, Musk decided to leave home, heading first to Canada and then the U.S. for university. Aside from that hes just dumb. My dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. [15][16] At the time of their marriage, Jana Bezuidenhout was only four years old and lived together with them. 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. ", She added, "He was very rich, but he made sure I had nothing. Hull, Dana, and Patrick May. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Elon Musks bid to implant chips into human brains shot down by feds, How the feds spend $74M a year to try to censor Americans, US government-funded research tagged Americans for Twitter ban: report, Tesla stock slumps as Master Plan 3 event falls flat with investors, after confirming he fathered a second secret love child, once rumored to be the co-owner of a Zambian emerald mine, an outspoken advocate for abolishing apartheid, Ashlee Vances 2017 biography of the Tesla founder, that he welcomed twochildren with an executive, second child with his ex-girlfriend, Grimes. 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. ", His post ended with this: "Finally, it is necessary to acknowledge the wrong and oppressive nature of apartheid and we do need to recognise the pain and suffering it caused for many South Africans, but I do not feel it is fair to associate any of that with what Elon has achieved through hard work since he left South African shores as a teenager of 17.". r/EnoughMuskSpam via Reddit.com, 18 Dec. 2021, https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/rj689s/elon_musk_and_the_emerald_mine/. In 2019, Elon Musk confronted the Twitter talking point about his father's supposed emerald mine head-on, writing, "He didn't own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt. ", 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. ANC accuses De Ruyter of ruining its good name and reputation, BREAKING: Chiefs confirm another MASSIVE injury blow. (We'll have more on Vance's Bloomberg.com interview later in this story.). His brother Kimbal was with him when the two brothers sold two of the gems to Tiffany & Co. for $2,000, according to their father. Harris Goe Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, Murdaugh son collapsed outside court after sitting stone-faced through dad's 6-week murder trial: source, Murderer Alex Murdaugh shaves head for latest mugshot after learning his fate, Kelly Osbourne posts first photo of baby son as he hangs out with uncle Jack, Greys Anatomy alum Isaiah Washington retiring from acting: The haters have won, Madonna watches new boyfriend Joshua Poppers fight in New York City, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce. On May 22, 2020, Bloomberg.com published an interview with Elon, which was penned by Ashlee Vance. Errol Musk was born in Pretoria South Africa to Walter Henry James and Cora Amelia Robinson. We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. 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. [2] His grandmother was the first chiropractor in Canada. The 76-year-old hasnt ruled out having more children, saying: The only thing we are on Earth for is to reproduce.. So I became a half owner of the mine, and we got emeralds for the next six years., When the Tesla CEO was around 16 years old, he and his brother Kimbal sold two emeralds to Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue in New York City while Errol snoozed, according to what Musk's father told Business Insider South Africa. He will plan evil. And then thered still be all these notes sticking out, and wed sort of pull them out and put them in our pockets.. In the mid-1980s, the family profited handsomely from Errol Musk's purchasing of an emerald mine, after selling their airplane for 80,000 (the equivalent of 320,000 today). Errol admitted to having affairs, but his ex-wife, now a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model, said the problems in their marriage extended beyond infidelity, alleging that Errol was abusive. On holidays, Errol and his kids would travel, he said: to Europe, Hong Kong, throughout the United States. ", Inoneof the tweets from Elon in which he refuted the emerald mine rumor, he linked to an article that had been published on March 9, 2021. Elon and other family members have opened up about years of living in debt after they left South Africa. He will plan evil, Elon tearfully told Rolling Stone in 2017. He is the father of business magnate and billionaire Elon Musk, restaurateur Kimbal Musk, and filmmaker Tosca Musk. Musk's father said that Tiffanys set the $800 emerald in a ring and offered it for $24,000, which he said was an object lesson in retail markup for the family. 1/2This article is false. AskMen, 2 Jan. 2015, https://www.askmen.com/entertainment/right-stuff/elon-musk-interview.html. Are broader financial markets in a massive speculative bubble? In an interview with Rolling Stone, during which he reportedly cried, Elon called his father "a terrible human being" and "evil. Errol was elected to the Pretoria City Council in 1972 and was an outspoken advocate for abolishing apartheid. With his new riches, Errol also bought half of an emerald mine. In 2018, Errol Musk interviewed Business Insider South Africa, where he told a story about bartering his way into partial ownership of an emerald mine in Zambia. I felt sorry for my father, because my mother had all three kids. After the end of the article, a note was added that read, "BI SA reached out to Elon for confirmation of the tale, but he did not respond. I tried threats, rewards, intellectual arguments, emotional arguments, everything to try to change my father for the better, and he no way, it just got worse. TheSouthAfrican.com is all about South Africa and the stories that affect South Africans, wherever they are in the world. 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.. Address: Riverbank House, 1 Putney Bridge Approach, London, SW6 4TJ. It was not a good idea.. Standing with the cash in his hand, Errol was made another offer he couldn't refuse: Would he like to buy half an emerald mine for half of his new riches? "'His Family Stole an Emerald Mine.'" Jump to Main content Search Account Menu icon A vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal. Below, we have laid out all of the data that we found, including examples of the rumor, as well as stories from newspaper archives and blogs. Journalism strengthens democracy. I said, Oh, all right. Wanderlust ran on both sides of the family. 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. Meanwhile, Musk's defenders often say that the mogul has denied this story, though that is not precisely true either. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done, he continued. It is often claimed that Musk's father, Errol Musk, once owned shares in a Zambian emerald mine, and that Musk subsequently enjoyed an . However, any reconciliation was apparently short-lived. [1] His father was a South African veteran of World War II and his mother was British. But I've been in physical danger before. [20] Musk has a total of seven children. Errol made money by consulting and developing properties, Forbes reported. "I'm naturally good at engineering that's because I inherited it from my father," he told Rolling Stone. * The headline of this article was updated toreflect that the Musk family once owned the mine in question, and no longer do. Hes the son of Maye Musk, a model and dietitian from Canada, and Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor. I said, Oh, all right. odakyu11. Errol Musk says teenage Elon Musk once casually walked around with emeralds in his pocket. Elon, 51, was brought to tears discussing his dad in a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, describing him as evil and a terrible human being.. He was such a terrible human being, Musk told the magazine. Esquire, 5 June 2015, https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a35508/elon-musk-college-years-canada-u-penn/. In South Africa, my father had a private plane we'd fly in incredibly dangerous weather and barely make it back. His net worth is. ". More answers and details are available in Arnold's article. Elon Musk's father, Errol Musk, remains a mysterious figure, and there is still no common consensus how his work or his wealth during Elon's childhood. "They were confronted by it every day," he said. Nothing, nothing. Worked on my Moms cousins farm in Saskatchewan & a lumber mill in Vancouver. His children were reportedly influenced by his liberal political views. Has even greenlit racism by saying those on receiving end need thick skin.https://t.co/DhpANcrqNp https://t.co/OESO1BJTtE, Can he be held responsible for his dad's ethics tho?