Born in 1971, Musk grew up in Pretoria, South Africa. Our offices are for administrative purposes only, no visitors will be accepted without an appointment. Errol named his price, and a deal was done. "Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege." This is not true," Elon told Rolling Stone in 2017. "Elon Musk's family owns an emerald mine" was corrected to "Elon Musk's family once owned an emerald mine." He didnt own an emerald mine, and I worked my way through college, ending up [around] $100,000 in student debt, Elon tweeted. 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. Wanderlust ran on both sides of the family. I wish. In the interview, the Tesla owner briefly mentioned that his father had a share in an emerald mine in Zambia. But I've been in physical danger before. Jack @lets_gobaby tweeted, Ok but how does inheriting money mean you arent smart?. 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. He was married to Maye Musk and also to Heide Musk, with whom he has two children, Alexandra and Rose. According to reporting we reviewed, the stake his father had in the emerald mine appeared to have both started and ended in the 1980s. Elon was a witness to this, bullets flying around, Cattrell further claimed. Theyre the same, except for the fact that he is a billionaire, started multiple successful companies and doesnt live in his mothers basement. ", The Tesla founder also said there was no way to repair his relationship with his father. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and his mother, Maye Musk. The Musk name might be one of the most recognizable on the planet, but little is known about its patriarch, Errol Musk. According to a Facebook post from Errol, the Zambian emerald mine he held a stake in "collapsed in 1989. Meet. Move over, Elon theres another Musk hitting the headlines. Although Musk said that his father was brilliant at engineering in the Rolling Stone interview, thats where the praise ended. For a while, I thought things were so obvious that everyone must know this., However, Elon has disputed claims that he grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth. The New York Times, 5 May 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/world/africa/elon-musk-south-africa.html. - February 10, 2021 02:34 pm EST. We did not receive a response from Forbes PR. "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? Errol and Elons feud has reportedly been exacerbated by the patriarchs eyebrow-raising relationships. In an interview with Business Insider South Africa, Musk's father Errol Musk said he negotiated his way into having partial ownership of an Emerald mine in Zambia along with other assets. Vance, Ashlee. . Jana was 4 years old when Errol married her mother, Heide Bezuidenhout though he claims that he didn't consider Jana his stepdaughter, as she primarily grew up separate from the Musks. In that context, its probably understandable that Musk decided enough was enough and felt he needed to answer the claims online. The wealth earned from the investment in the mine was quantified to be about $400,000 USD, taking into account inflation when Arnold's piece was written in 2021, according to Errol. [Jana] stayed here for about 18 months after Rushi was born. Elon called the story "actually accurate." Elon also denied that Errol invested in the company. The article was titled, "I Talked to Elon Musk about Journalism and the Blood Emeralds Story.". 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. They also emphasize anecdotes from Elon and his mother about the hard work and squalor they endured in Canada in those years. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Headded, also on Dec. 28, "We started Zip2 with ~$2k from me plus my overclocked home-built PC, ~$5k from my bro & ~$8k from Greg Kouri (such a good guy he is greatly missed). 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. 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. "Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done It's so terrible, you can't believe it. 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. The Buffalo News via San Jose Mercury News via Newspapers.com, 20 Apr. 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. ", For his part, Errol told the Daily Mail that Elon "needs to grow up" and "get over himself," adding, "I'm not going to hit back. Rolling Stone reported in 2017 that Errol was, by his own account, making money in the often dangerous worlds of construction and emerald mining at times so much that he claims he couldnt close his safe.. (We'll have more on Vance's Bloomberg.com interview later in this story.). There were AK-47s all over the place and I'm thinking, "Man, this could really go bad.". Wayback Machine. Errol built his wealth as a prominent electromechanical engineer and entrepreneur in South Africa, reports The South African. First, we have republished past statements from both Errol and Elon. Musk readily jumps onto Twitter to refute the charges that his empire was forged with the aid of family wealth, and part of the reason he wanted to talk to merather comically given the rocket launch and, well, trollswas because the jabs bug him, and he hopes to set the record straight. On May 22, 2020, Bloomberg.com published an interview with Elon, which was penned by Ashlee Vance. [11][5] Maye has stated that Errol beat her. This story was picked up by other news outlets and peddled as a sign of the Musk family's "lavish lifestyle. There was a shooting in the living room, and I guess his father shot them dead. Other companies started by Musk include Neuralink, which is working on developing implantable brainmachine interfaces. . Where is this bs coming from? Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done.". Former Tesla employees have reported racist behavior and attempted to sue over it. 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. Elon and other family members have opened up about years of living in debt after they left South Africa. "The Man Who's Revolutionizing The Future Of Driving -- And The Universe." His children were reportedly influenced by his liberal political views. The article attributed the source of Elon Musks wealth to apartheid. "Elon Musk and the Emerald Mine." It spoke of the divorce of Elon's parents, Errol and Maye Musk, and also contained a quick mention of an emerald mine. We also reached out to both men for additional comment and to ask if they could potentially provide any evidence that would support their statements, even though they didn't start the rumor. 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. "Bezos' Comments on Workers after Spaceflight Draws Rebuke." 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. 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. "I paid my own way through collegethrough student loans, scholarships, working jobsand ended up with $100,000 of student debt," Musk says. "Elon Musk Tells Me His Secret Of Success (Hint: It Ain't About The Money)." Worked on my Moms cousins farm in Saskatchewan & a lumber mill in Vancouver. @spylinen tweeted, The mine was in Zambia, which became independent of the UK in 1964. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done., He was such a terrible human being. "'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." Ive tried everything. An avid pilot and sailor, as well as an electrical and mechanical engineer, he made his money consulting and developing properties and retired early. Errol Musk was born in 1946 in Pretoria to Walter Henry James Musk and Cora Amelia Robinson. Errol himself has an adventurous streak and is an avid sailor and pilot. Market Realist is a registered trademark. 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. "Is It True That Elon Musk's Family Got Their Wealth from Apartheid Emerald Mining?" On holidays, Errol and his kids would travel, he said: to Europe, Hong Kong, throughout the United States. [4], Musk met Maye Haldeman when he was 11 years old and they were childhood friends before marrying in 1970. ERROL IS A RETIRED SOUTH AFRICAN ENGINEER. Not all the tweets were supportive of Elon. I left South Africa by myself when I was 17 with just a backpack & suitcase of books. Note: The reference to Zip2 concerned Elon's "first enterprise" in 1995. The article was republished in several other newspapers around the U.S. You could tell by the way that he told the story. 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. Whats very difficult for others is easy for me. "And we got emeralds for the next six years.". [9], Errol Musk's claims that he invested in Elon Musk's software company Zip2 have been rejected by Elon Musk. However, Errol also told the outlet that life in apartheid South Africa was ultimately "better" and "safer" than it is today. In a 2019 . "But I mean, we were living together. This story will be updated if any further details come to light. "They didn't like it.". In an interview with Rolling Stone, during which he reportedly cried, Elon called his father "a terrible human being" and "evil. One of their homes was in Waterkloof, a leafy suburb of Pretoria that was popular with foreign diplomats. 2014, https://www.newspapers.com/image/878211644/. Hes the son of Maye Musk, a model and dietitian from Canada, and Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor. Its obvious why Musk would want to distance himself from apartheid in every possible way. 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. Fortier, Alexander. Errol was elected to the Pretoria City Council in 1972 and was an outspoken advocate for abolishing apartheid. How much of a Momentum Proteas Womens cricket fan are you? "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. Smart Policies are as low as $30 a month, No Medical Exam Required 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. On July 28, 2014, Forbes.com published an interview with Elon Musk, which was conducted by Jim Clash. Errol Musk said he bought half of an emerald mine after selling a plane. Elon would later get his own pilot's license but no longer has time to fly. 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. 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. "Elon Musk Hits out at US Professor over Emerald Mine Claims: 'Idiot and Liar.'" Former Tesla employee Marcus Vaughn, who worked in the Fremont, California, factory in 2017, alleged that the companys production floor was a hotbed for racist behavior. Supervisors regularly used the N word around Black workers and he said he was fired after complaining to human resources about workplace harassment. Instead, we will concentrate on the two Business Insider South Africa articles mentioned by Arnold that appeared to provide the roots of the "apartheid emerald mine" rumor. ", He grew up in South Africa and had the good fortune of doing so in an upper-middle-class home. 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. His mother Maye responded on Twitter in December 2019 in defense of Elon. ANC accuses De Ruyter of ruining its good name and reputation, BREAKING: Chiefs confirm another MASSIVE injury blow. Kaizer Chiefs to sign more Swallows players. He will plan evil. Since at least 2018, a rumor has been shared online about Tesla CEO and Twitter owner Elon Musk in regard to his father's purported past ownership of an "apartheid emerald mine" or "slave emerald mine." Elon Musk was highlighted as the wealthiest resident of Texas, Americas second-biggest state. Errol met Maye Haldeman the lady who would become his wife at Clapham High School. 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. "I said, 'Oh, all right.' Eligon, John, and Lynsey Chutel. Forbes, 1 Oct. 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2016/10/01/can-elon-musk-really-get-us-to-mars-within-10-years/. "I screwed up the marriage, I was totally responsible. "Tesla, Inc."Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tesla-Motors. "In my experience, there is nothing you can do," he added. He had this sense that it was definitely not a safe place to be, and he had to get the hell out.. "We were very wealthy. 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. In my experience, there is nothing you can do, Elon said of Errol. You have no idea.. The netizen claimed that the Business Insider article didnt show the real extent of the Musk family profiting from apartheid. The 76-year-old is most notable for. 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. My dad was not physically violent with me. However, any reconciliation was apparently short-lived. It is often claimed that Musk's father, Errol Musk, once owned shares in a Zambian emerald mine, and that Musk subsequently enjoyed an . 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. All rights reserved. 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. Instead, they focus on describing how hard he worked in his teenage years and early adulthood, how much debt he accrued by attending college and his disdain for his father. She won't speak to me or engage me if we're in the same room which we have been often.". So I thought, I can be company. Yeah, I was sad for my father. He didnt own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt. Kaizer Chiefs to sign more Stellenbosch players? ---. mark_able_jones_. 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 . ", In the post, he claimed that his family stood in opposition to apartheid, saying he went so far as to be elected as a Pretoria city councillor to aid that opposition. 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. Earlier in this story, we referenced a July 3, 2020, tweet from Elon that mentioned Vance's interview. He did the investment after selling a plane for about 80 000. Errol made money by consulting and developing properties, Forbes reported. So I became a half owner of the mine, and we got emeralds for the next six years.". Imgur, 5 Dec. 2019, https://imgur.com/SHGhIY2. It was a lucrative decision. Instead, Musk has sought to dispel the general belief that he comes from wealth. Elon Musks family wealth has once again resurfaced as a talking point. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. 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. According to the Internet Archive, the article was still available months after it was published, onSept. 1, 2014, but was gone by Sept. 18. 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. It was also shared on Reddit.com. [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). Where is this bs coming from? "'His Family Stole an Emerald Mine.'" All Rights Reserved. On their way to England, Errol and his copilot got word that their original flight plan was going to cost a lot of money. 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. Elon Musk isn't innovative. In 2018, Musk also told Business Insider that his father Errol purchased a 50 per cent share in the mine after selling a plane. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done," Elon said. 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. The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2009, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/08/24/plugged-in. ", 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. 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. "'His Family Stole an Emerald Mine.'" But that's more or less where the good fortune ended. TheSouthAfrican.com is all about South Africa and the stories that affect South Africans, wherever they are in the world. Address: Riverbank House, 1 Putney Bridge Approach, London, SW6 4TJ. Elon Musk: The Truth About His Dad and Emerald Mines, Amy Robach and T.J. 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Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. Forbes, 28 July 2014, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2014/07/28/elon-musk-tells-me-his-secret-of-success-hint-it-aint-about-the-money/. D'Innocenzio, Anne. They still dont like it. [21] As of 2022, Musk and Jana Bezuidenhout were no longer living together. "A Teenage Elon Musk Once Casually Sold His Father's Emeralds to Tiffany & Co. This is why people are switching to @TheBabylonBee! Musk wrote. To summarize Arnold's story would be difficult, as it contained a considerable amount of data and analysis. 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This article forms part of the archives of Business Insider South Africa, which was published as a partnership between News24 and Insider Inc between 2018 and 2023. "The Richest Person In Every State And How They Made Their Money." I couldn't even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. "Zip2." Arnold, Jeremy. So I became a half owner of the mine, and we got emeralds for the next six years.. 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. Elon clarified that his father was never physically abusive toward him and that he once tried to mend the relationship by inviting his father to live with him in the United States. 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. The 51-year-old has refuted claims that he grew up rich amid statements that his father Errol owned an emerald mine in . 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. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. And I was too scared to tell anyone [about his violence]," Maye told Harper's Bazaar in 2019. In 1970, Errol married modelMaye Haldeman Musk before the pair welcomed three children: Elon, Kimbal and Tosca. 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. South Africa Blue Sky Publications (Pty) Ltd T/A TheSouthAfrican Number: 2005/028472/07. Errol and Heide eventually divorced after an 18-year marriage. ", She added, "He was very rich, but he made sure I had nothing. Elon Musk came from a family that owned an emerald mine in Apartheid South Africa. [13] After engaging in extra-marital affairs,[4] Errol and Maye divorced in 1979, and both sons moved in with their father. Theyd seen I was sleeping in one morning, and they said, Oh lets just try, lets go.. ", 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. The funny thing is I've not actually been that nervous. Esquire, 5 June 2015, https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a35508/elon-musk-college-years-canada-u-penn/. My dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. It was kind of weird for them to walk into Tiffanys. [18][19] Musk described the first child as unplanned. 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. Their half-sister.. Note: Reporting from Esquire.com said that Elon moved from South Africa to Canada in 1988. In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. Answer these 2 simple questions & WIN R1000 in cash! We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. I felt sorry for my father, because my mother had all three kids.