In a February 2018 interview with Business Insider South Africa, Musk's father said he did own half share in an emerald mine in Zambia. His children were reportedly influenced by his liberal political views. Elon Musk isn't innovative. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done.". I left South Africa by myself when I was 17 with just a backpack & suitcase of books. Errol and Elons feud has reportedly been exacerbated by the patriarchs eyebrow-raising relationships. Elon called the story "actually accurate." According to the Twitter flag, Musk claimed in 2014 to Forbes that he had an emerald mine in Zambia. "Nothing, nothing. Photo: Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post/Getty Images; Anthony Harvey/Getty Images, Elon Musk and Amber Heard's Relationship Timeline, Elon Musk Claims He Had 'No Choice' But to Make Mass Layoffs at Twitter, Elon Musk Buys Twitter for $44B Following Legal Battle with Company, Fires Top Execs: Reports, Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey Apologizes Following Layoffs at the Company After Elon Musk's Takeover, Twitter to Lay Off Several Employees Over Email amid Elon Musk Takeover: Reports, Employees Suing Twitter In Response to Elon Musk's Plans for Mass Layoffs, Elon Musk Goes to Heidi Klum's Halloween Party as Stars Vow to Leave Twitter Over Controversy, When Will Donald Trump Return to Twitter? For example, on Dec. 28, 2019, hetweetedthat his father "didn't own an emerald mine" and that he (Elon) had worked his way through college, ending up with around $100,000 in student debt. 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. He also co-founded PayPal, which means a Twitter user said The WHOLE bank on the internet was started by him (yes, your credit card as well). Errol. While the story merely pointed to the facts that apartheid existed at the time and the Musk family made money from emerald mining, Musk to his frustration has found it hard to brush off the narrative of his wealth being linked to apartheid. The patriarch confirmed the shootings to the publication in 2017, saying manslaughter charges were later dropped because he acted in self-defense. ", 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.". Britannica.com, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zip2. All Rights Reserved. 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. The child, a boy named Elliot Rush, is now 5 years old. According to the Internet Archive, the article was still available months after it was published, onSept. 1, 2014, but was gone by Sept. 18. Errol Musk was born in 1946 in Pretoria to Walter Henry James Musk and Cora Amelia Robinson. ", 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. It was revealed last weekthat he welcomed twochildren with an executiveat his artificial intelligence company, Neuralink, just weeks before hissecond child with his ex-girlfriend, Grimes,was born. You have no idea. Image via Instagram @mayemusk. Im not sure if replying to a satire site and amplifying their articles reach is necessarily the best idea, but Musk felt that this was a hill worth dying on. I wish. [2] His grandmother was the first chiropractor in Canada. Musk, who is never shy of saying his say online, took to Twitter to show his disappointment with The Onion and took the opportunity to shout-out the publications competition, The Babylon Bee. I wish. 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. Errol made money by consulting and developing properties, Forbes reported. He had this sense that it was definitely not a safe place to be, and he had to get the hell out.. Elon Musk came from a family that owned an emerald mine in Apartheid South Africa. Maye and Errol divorced in 1980 when Elon was about 9 years old. 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. 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. Jeff Bezos' garage-based start was funded by a quarter . It was kind of weird for them to walk into Tiffanys. The story included reporting of Elon's denials that the emerald mine had provided any seed money for the wealth he would later accumulate. Vance wrote, "For what it's worth, my reporting, based on conversations with hundreds of people, confirms Musk's story. "Exploring the otherworldly ambitions of Elon Musk", "How To Raise A Billionaire: An Interview With Elon Musk's Father, Errol Musk", "Who Is Elon Musk's Estranged Father? 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." mark_able_jones_. Not all the tweets were supportive of Elon. Where is this bs coming from?" More answers and details are available in Arnold's article. We reached out to Clash and Forbes PR to ask why the interview was no longer available. 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. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. Maye and Errol divorced in 1980 when Elon was about 9 years old. There were AK-47s all over the place and I'm thinking, "Man, this could really go bad.". [23], In 1998, Musk shot and killed three out of six or seven burglars who forced their way into his Johannesburg home and who opened fire upon detection.[24]. Here is the incredible true story of Errol Musk and the striking similarities he shares with his powerful son. Fortier, Alexander. Its so terrible, you cant believe it.. 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.. While in Djibouti, he and his co-pilot sold their plane to some Italian nationals. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. Aside from that hes just dumb. You could tell by the way that he told the story. The 76-year-old is most notable for being Elons estranged father, with the pair famously falling out several years ago. The buyer also offered Errol the option to buy half of an emerald mine with that cash. "Elon Musk Is the Hero America Deserves." Errol owned one of the largest homes in Pretoria and took his children on many overseas trips, according to the book, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, written by Ashlee Vance. "I paid my own way through collegethrough student loans, scholarships, working jobsand ended up with $100,000 of student debt," Musk says. SpaceX, his rocket company, is valued at $20 billion-plus. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done, he continued. Errol Musk says teenage Elon Musk once casually walked around with emeralds in his pocket. I was 15 and really wanted to go with him but didn't realize how dangerous it was. You have no idea. A Twitter user claimed in December 2019 that Elon Musk's privileged upbringing included his father, Errol Musk, who owned an emerald mine [and] who could bankroll his education. However, the Tesla CEO begged to differ. He began his career as an electromechanical engineer. Eligon, John, and Lynsey Chutel. Black Americans Have the Highest Mortality Rates But Lowest Levels of Life Insurance 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. The share in the mine wasnt acquired until the 1980s. At some point after the shooting, the relationship between dad Errol and son Elon soured. He seemed very sad and lonely by himself. From impregnating his stepdaughter to the emerald mine, here's what we know about Elon Musk's South African father Errol Musk. Ask him." But the emerald mine story keeps coming back. They also emphasize anecdotes from Elon and his mother about the hard work and squalor they endured in Canada in those years. "One thing led to another you can call it God's plan or nature's plan. Forbes, 1 Oct. 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2016/10/01/can-elon-musk-really-get-us-to-mars-within-10-years/. 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. After the divorce, Elon lived mostly with his father until he left South Africa at age 17 partly to avoid conscription in the South African army. Inside the fabulous Dior couture world of 'Mrs. Elon Musk does not care about Black people.Example after example after example. Imgur, 5 Dec. 2019, https://imgur.com/SHGhIY2. However, again, the story was at least partially unavailable on that website, too. It didn't work out too well in the end," he said. ", He grew up in South Africa and had the good fortune of doing so in an upper-middle-class home. "We went to this guy's prefab [home] and he opened his safe," Errol said. Business Insider South Africa, 23 Feb. 2018, https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-dad-tells-bi-about-the-familys-casual-attitude-to-wealth-2018-2. Clearly, Elon Musk doesn't like being mocked. I couldnt even afford a second [computer] at [web software company] Zip2, so [I] programmed at night and the website only worked during the day. In 1970, Errol married modelMaye Haldeman Musk before the pair welcomed three children: Elon, Kimbal and Tosca. "And then there'd still be all these notes sticking out and we'd sort of pull them out and put them in our pockets.". ", 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. "My brother and I paid for college through scholarships, loans and working two jobs simultaneously. 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.. Errol Musk, the father of Elon Musk, told British tabloid The Sun Wednesday that he had a second and previously-unknown child with his stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout, in 2019 leaving many. Errol also added that his children were keenly aware of the country's government-sanctioned racial segregation. "I screwed up the marriage, I was totally responsible. ", 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. de Wet, Phillip. 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. He is the father of business magnate and billionaire Elon Musk, restaurateur Kimbal Musk, and filmmaker Tosca Musk. Musk replied, linking to Jeremy Arnolds article, which gave Musks side of the story. His parents divorced. Zip2's purpose was to provide "a searchable business directory that could be described as an internet version of the yellow pages telephone directory with maps included," according to Britannica.com. This is a pretty awful lie, Elon tweeted. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day.. We went to this guys prefab, and he opened his safe, and there [were] just stacks of money, and he paid me out 80,000, It was a huge amount of money, he said. So we decided to head back to Lake Tanganyika from where we were, I think we were in Djibouti., Errol Musk (father of one Elon Musk) on raising one of the world's most famous billionaires: http://t.co/Fg8xmqN1L0 pic.twitter.com/LVJyMdebZK. There, the two South Africans ran into a group of Italians who, as it happened, were in the market for an airplane. "Exploring the Otherworldly Ambitions of Elon Musk." 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. r/EnoughMuskSpam via Reddit.com, 18 Dec. 2021, https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/rj689s/elon_musk_and_the_emerald_mine/. He told me over and over that I was stupid, ugly, boring. Chromatica Warrior @DebbieTweeted Can he be held responsible for his dads ethics tho? Musk left his father behind at the age of 17 to pursue his dreams in North America and escape conscription into the South African military. Click Here to Get Smart on Protecting Your Family and Loves Ones, No Matter What Happens. The funding we raised for our first company came from a small group of random angel investors in Silicon Valley. Later, on Sept. 20, 2022, hecalledRobert Reich "an idiot and a liar" for tweeting a video that pushed the emerald mine wealth rumor as fact. Meanwhile, Musk's defenders often say that the mogul has denied this story, though that is not precisely true either. Answer these 2 simple questions & WIN R1000 in cash! Note: Less than two weeks after Arnold's piece was published in 2021, the satirical website The Onion printed a story with the headline, "The Richest Person In Every State And How They Made Their Money." Errol and his stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout, share two children. Where is this bs coming from? Elon would later get his own pilot's license but no longer has time to fly. And he had a disastrous relationship with his father. [4], Musk met Maye Haldeman when he was 11 years old and they were childhood friends before marrying in 1970. He's having a tantrum, like a spoilt child. . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. For 14 free days, you can have access to a world of in-depth analyses, investigative journalism, top opinions and a range of features. The 76-year-old hasnt ruled out having more children, saying: The only thing we are on Earth for is to reproduce.. We were very wealthy. "They just walked into Tiffany's and said, 'Do you want to buy some emeralds?' In an interview with The Sun, Errol recalled the attack, claiming that he was confronted by a group of seven men inside his home and shot back at the intruders after they opened fire. At 17, Musk decided to leave home, heading first to Canada and then the U.S. for university. 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. Once again, he said that he paid his own way through college, ending with around $100,000 in student debt, and added thathe started his first company with no funding and one computer he built himself. TheSouthAfrican.com is all about South Africa and the stories that affect South Africans, wherever they are in the world. He was only physically violent when I was very young., He also said, You have no idea about how bad. [6][7] In a 2018 interview with Business Insider, Musk boasted that as a result of the emerald mine "we had so much money we couldn't even close our safe. 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. Regardless of your opinion of him, he is aself-made billionaire." He didnt own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt. In 2018, Musk also told Business Insider that his father Errol purchased a 50 per cent share in the mine after selling a plane. D'Innocenzio, Anne. And then thered still be all these notes sticking out, and wed sort of pull them out and put them in our pockets.. Their plane got diverted, which led to a chance meeting with Italians who wanted to buy the plane in cash. 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. 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. It is still hard to discern whether this story is true and what conclusions can be drawn. After his divorce from Elons mother, Errol went on to wed HeideBezuidenhout, a young widow who already had two children, including 4-year-old Jana Bezuidenhout. Instead, Musk has sought to dispel the general belief that he comes from wealth. In a 2019 . He will plan evil, Elon tearfully told Rolling Stone in 2017. 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. . On an undisclosed date, Errol reportedly shot and killed three of up to a half-dozen armed intruders who broke into his Johannesburg home, according to Rolling Stone. I couldn't even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. The netizen claimed that the Business Insider article didnt show the real extent of the Musk family profiting from apartheid. 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. 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.. Errol and Jana welcomed a son, Elliot "Rushi" Rush, in 2017 and a daughter in 2019. Soon after Elon left for Canada, his mother, Maye, moved there too, along with Elons brother, Kimbal, and sister, Tosca. Elon tweeted that he had $100,000 debt after college. He has also fathered two children, a son and a daughter, with his stepdaughter Jana Bezuidenhout. 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. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. "Who Is Elon Musk's Estranged Father? Elon and Kimbal allegedly sold 2 emeralds: one worth $800 and another worth $1200. Elon also denied that Errol invested in the company. https://web.archive.org/. Elon may have been 6 or 7 years old at the time and begged his dad to get him a ticket to a very early computer conference in South Africa. One of their homes was in Waterkloof, a leafy suburb of Pretoria that was popular with foreign diplomats. "They were confronted by it every day," he said. My dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. Several respondents on social media disputed the emerald mine and privileged-lifestyle story, defending Musks intelligence and questioning the intelligence of the person who started the thread. AskMen, 2 Jan. 2015, https://www.askmen.com/entertainment/right-stuff/elon-musk-interview.html. The Daily Mail has reported that Errol was a multimillionaire before the age of 30. On their way to England, Errol and his copilot got word that their original flight plan was going to cost a lot of money. . odakyu11. 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? We did not receive a response from Forbes PR. 2021, https://www.theonion.com/the-richest-person-in-every-state-and-how-they-made-the-1846312073. 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. Errol named his price, and a deal was done. ", 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. Wayback Machine. He's the son of Maye Musk, a model and dietitian from Canada, and Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor. Though Errol has made headlines in recent years after the births of his two youngest children, he seemingly avoids the spotlight. Invest in the future today. He was such a terrible human being, Musk told the magazine. Jordan Liles is a Snopes reporter with expertise in investigating misinformation, inauthentic social media activity, and scams. We contacted Elon publicly on Twitter. The Tesla CEO has fathered 10 children. Errol told Business Insider South Africa that he once owned half of an emerald mine in Zambia, which he claimed to have purchased on a whim. The funny thing is I've not actually been that nervous. 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. 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. Kaizer Chiefs to sign more Swallows players. 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. So it was very formative for him. "He also claims he was getting emeralds from other sources, with only 60-70% coming from this venture." According to the story, "When [Elon] was elevenabout the time that he sold his first piece of software, a video game called Blastar Musk told his mother that he was going to move back to Pretoria to live with his father, Errol, an electrical engineer who would later own an auto-parts store and a share in an emerald mine.". In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. Wanderlust ran on both sides of the family. 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.". "Elon Musk Tells Me His Secret Of Success (Hint: It Ain't About The Money)." He continued: He grabbed some weapons, as you could see on the cameras there were some intruders that were coming over the walls, and they were also armed. Whats very difficult for others is easy for me. All the Musk siblings did well, Forbes reported. Errol Musk, the familys patriarch, is in the news after confirming he fathered a second secret love child with his stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout, 35. "What's very difficult for others is easy for me. 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. Then he'd sue me and say that I was unfit to parent.". The 51-year-old has refuted claims that he grew up rich amid statements that his father Errol owned an emerald mine in . His mother Maye responded on Twitter in December 2019 in defense of Elon. Musk's critics often paraphrase the story on social media, who accuse him not only of benefitting from wealth rather than genius but of indirectly profiting from Apartheid. "So we decided to head back to Lake Tanganyika from where we were, I think we were in Djibouti.". Worked on my Moms cousins farm in Saskatchewan & a lumber mill in Vancouver. "He didn't own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt," Elon tweeted in December 2019. After obtaining the mine, he tells that he had so much money, that 'he couldn't close his safe'. Where is this B.S. We also reached out to media relations personnel at SpaceX, where he is the founder and CEO, as well as Tesla and Twitter. Still, it wasarchived by the Internet Archive. In 2017, Errol told Rolling Stone that while he has never intentionally hurt or threatened anyone, he once shot and killed a group of burglars at his home in Johannesburg, though he says he was cleared of all charges because he acted in self-defense. However, that as well as Errol's claim of owning half of an emerald mine is in stark contrast to what Elon has said about his father's wealth. He said that he sold and traded these emeralds himself and that at one point, Elon himself even went out to sell some of the stones. 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. 2014, https://www.newspapers.com/image/878211644/. 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. Errol Musk is a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor. She won't speak to me or engage me if we're in the same room which we have been often.". Vance, Ashlee. He has a net worth of $2 million and is living quite comfortably. 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. [9], Errol Musk's claims that he invested in Elon Musk's software company Zip2 have been rejected by Elon Musk. When the same pattern of racist behavior happens at all $tsla locations, its the company thats racist, and the fish rots from @elonmusk s head.https://t.co/aKAP7vrT6G https://t.co/EMN9xQH06V. He will plan evil. [22] He is estranged from his son Elon. When Errol and Maye divorced in 1979, a then-8-year-old Elon chose to live with his dad.
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