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/. Below we have provided a small sampling of the many different ways the rumor has been framed in past years. And we spent three weeks making our rent-controlled apartment livable in Toronto, Maye tweeted. The interview is no longer available on the Forbes website. 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. On their way to England, Errol and his copilot got word that their original flight plan was going to cost a lot of money. Answer these 2 simple questions & WIN R1000 in cash! Though Errol has made headlines in recent years after the births of his two youngest children, he seemingly avoids the spotlight. Meanwhile, Musk's defenders often say that the mogul has denied this story, though that is not precisely true either. 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. 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.". Errols grandmother was Canadas first chiropractor, while Errols own mom and dad were the first two people to fly from South Africa to Australia in a single-engine airplane, according to Forbes magazine. His children were reportedly influenced by his liberal political views. 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. The 76-year-old is most notable for. de Wet, Phillip. The Save Journalism Committee, 9 Mar. 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. 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. "Elon Musk's family owns an emerald mine" was corrected to "Elon Musk's family once owned an emerald mine." 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.. As a child, Elon had a close relationship with his father and grew up prosperous in Pretoria. 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. In the interview, the Tesla owner briefly mentioned that his father had a share in an emerald mine in Zambia. He would throw out everything they arrived with, so I had to buy them all new clothes and school things. Copyright Blue Sky Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Chromatica Warrior @DebbieTweeted Can he be held responsible for his dads ethics tho? By email, Clash told us he had no idea why it was no longer hosted by Forbes. Born in 1971, Musk grew up in Pretoria, South Africa. Errol and Heide had two children of their own, but he also helped raise Jana. Once the kids were living with me, they visited their father some weekends. In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. He was married to Maye Musk and also to Heide Musk, with whom he has two children, Alexandra and Rose. My dad was not physically violent with me. 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. The 76-year-old hasnt ruled out having more children, saying: The only thing we are on Earth for is to reproduce.. Several decades ago, Errol allegedly shot and killed three armed intruders who broke into his Johannesburg home. ---. In 1972, Errol was elected to the Pretoria City Council in his native South Africa. "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. Elon Musk addressed the recent social storm when claims related his familys emerald mines in apartheid-South Africa resurfaced online. Click Here to Get Smart on Protecting Your Family and Loves Ones, No Matter What Happens. There was a shooting in the living room, and I guess his father shot them dead. To me, he sure is trying to make the world better right now, and thats the best thing he could do with his fathers money. 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. According to reporting we reviewed, the stake his father had in the emerald mine appeared to have both started and ended in the 1980s. In addition to Elon, Errol is dad to son Kimbal Musk and daughters Tosca, Alexandra and Asha Rose Musk. Elon Musk said he and his brother have supported their father since he "ran out of money in 90s." He was reacting to a tweet saying he was from a family that owned an African emerald mine.. He also called the whole rumor "BS.". "He didn't own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt. Address: Regus Business Centre 1st Floor, Block B, North Park, Black River Park, 2 Fir Street, Observatory, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa Postal: Blue Sky Publications (Pty) Ltd T/A TheSouthAfrican, PO Box 44354, Claremont, 7735, South Africa, United Kingdom Blue Sky Publications Ltd Company Registration Number: 04683692. But by many accounts, the issues at the Tesla factory go beyond the need for a thick skin, New York Times reported. 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. "We went to . Smart Policies are as low as $30 a month, No Medical Exam Required Elon Musks family wealth has once again resurfaced as a talking point. Errol and Heide eventually divorced after an 18-year marriage. I felt sorry for my father, because my mother had all three kids. ", 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. 2021, https://savingjournalism.substack.com/p/i-talked-to-elon-musk-about-journalism. 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 met Maye Haldeman the lady who would become his wife at Clapham High School. 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? And he had a disastrous relationship with his father. 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." At some point after the shooting, the relationship between dad Errol and son Elon soured. Their plane got diverted, which led to a chance meeting with Italians who wanted to buy the plane in cash. He did the investment after selling a plane for about 80 000. All About Errol Musk", "50 years of Elon Musk's huge wealth, from emeralds to SpaceX and Tesla", "How Elon Musk made his money - from emeralds to SpaceX and Tesla", "Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege", "At 68, Maye Musk, the Mother of Elon, Is Reclaiming the Spotlight", "El padre de Elon Musk dice que la ambicin de su hijo se debe a la educacin austera que recibi: "Fui un padre estricto", "BBC Two - The Elon Musk Show, Series 1, Episode 2", "Elon Musk's dad reveals he fathered an "unplanned" child with his stepdaughter", "Elon Musk's father has baby with step-daughter he has known since she was four", "Elon Musk's father confirms second child with his own stepdaughter - report", "Errol Musk explains why he got his stepdaughter pregnant", "Ayah Elon Musk Punya Bayi dari Hubungan dengan Putri Tirinya", "Meet Elon Musk's controversial father, Errol", "Errol Musk hat Kind mit Stieftochter: "Wir sind zum Fortpflanzen auf der Welt", "Elon Musk's Dad Says Company Wants His Sperm to Impregnate 'High-Class' Women", Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors, Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Errol_Musk&oldid=1142497006, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 18:50. Musk replied, linking to Jeremy Arnolds article, which gave Musks side of the story. We've received your submission. It was a lucrative decision. This is going to sound slightly crazy, but my father also had a share in an Emerald mine in Zambia. Quora, 9 Mar. @spylinen tweeted, The mine was in Zambia, which became independent of the UK in 1964. Elon Musk came from a family that owned an emerald mine in Apartheid South Africa. "'His Family Stole an Emerald Mine.'" 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. While His Dad Was Sleeping." Although Tesla stands out as a groundbreaking company at the forefront of the electric car revolution, its standard operating procedure at the Tesla factory is pre-civil-rights-era race discrimination, Vaughn wrote in his complaint, according to a Daily Beast report. I wish. CEO Elon Musk said his father Errol ran out of money in the '90s and was provided financial support by the entrepreneur and his brother. Musk's defenders have also pointed out that Errol's alleged trade took place in the mid-1980s, at which point Zambia was independent. 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. That conversation is more valuable but less newsworthy than just resurfacing the same lazy claims every few months, which are guaranteed to get clicks. 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. Black Americans Have the Highest Mortality Rates But Lowest Levels of Life Insurance 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. 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). Heres his story. Bloomberg.com, 22 May 2020, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-05-22/elon-musk-speaks-frankly-on-coronavirus-spacex-and-rage-tweets. On holidays, Errol and his kids would travel, he said: to Europe, Hong Kong, throughout the United States. In that way, Errol might be like estranged Elon after all. The netizen claimed that the Business Insider article didnt show the real extent of the Musk family profiting from apartheid. For 14 free days, you can have access to a world of in-depth analyses, investigative journalism, top opinions and a range of features. Elon Musk does not care about Black people.Example after example after example. 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." However, $800 was probably pocket change for the family, judging by what Musk's father told the site. It is still hard to discern whether this story is true and what conclusions can be drawn. This is not true," Elon told Rolling Stone in 2017. 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 headline of this article was updated toreflect that the Musk family once owned the mine in question, and no longer do. As well as providing links, people started commenting Musk's own words back at him under his tweet. mark_able_jones_. We had so much money at times we couldnt even close our safe, he explained, adding that they would need one person to hold the money in place and another to close the safe door. The Tesla CEO has fathered 10 children. Elon Musk has a wild story!" he captioned it. Elon Musk (~16 years old) & Kimbal Musk sold gems from the Zambian emerald mine to world-famous "Tiffany & Co." on Fifth Avenue in New York - one of the world's most famous jewelers. "I said, 'Oh, all right.' He said that they stopped in Djibouti to avoid pricey airport fees, and there happened to meet some Italian merchants who offered to buy the plane from him then and there. We reached out to Clash and Forbes PR to ask why the interview was no longer available. Its so terrible, you cant believe it.. The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2009, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/08/24/plugged-in. 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. In December 2019, Elon denied the emerald mine-and-lavish-lifestyle story on Twitter, saying it was a lie. The story included reporting of Elon's denials that the emerald mine had provided any seed money for the wealth he would later accumulate. Errol was elected to the Pretoria City Council in 1972 and was an outspoken advocate for abolishing apartheid. [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. 2023 The Moguldom Nation. She won't speak to me or engage me if we're in the same room which we have been often.". He began his career as an electromechanical engineer. So I thought, I can be company. Yeah, I was sad for my father. Musk, Elon. One of their homes was in Waterkloof, a leafy suburb of Pretoria that was popular with foreign diplomats. ", Errol and Elon have an acrimonious relationship. According to Ashlee Vances 2017 biography of the Tesla founder, The Musk family owned one of the biggest houses in Pretoria thanks to the success of Errols engineering business, which included large projects such as office buildings, retail complexes, residential subdivisions, and an air force base.. Ive tried everything. "And we got emeralds for the next six years.". According to a Facebook post from Errol, the Zambian emerald mine he held a stake in "collapsed in 1989. To summarize Arnold's story would be difficult, as it contained a considerable amount of data and analysis. 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. However, Errol also told the outlet that life in apartheid South Africa was ultimately "better" and "safer" than it is today. With his new riches, Errol also bought half of an emerald mine. The share in the mine wasnt acquired until the 1980s. 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. Are broader financial markets in a massive speculative bubble? 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. So we got one, thank God at a discount, and with that computer he taught himself, using Disk Operating System, which is DOS, to program, Errol said. Errol also shared how his sons got involved in the family business and recalled a time when Elon and his brother Kimbal sold a few of the emeralds from his mine to Tiffany & Co. in New York City. Jordan Liles is a Snopes reporter with expertise in investigating misinformation, inauthentic social media activity, and scams. odakyu11. . In an interview with Business Insider South Africa, Errol admitted that, at one point, he literally made more money than he could physically handle. The emerald mine was not mentioned in that interview. If I could have another child I would. 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. "I paid my own way through collegethrough student loans, scholarships, working jobsand ended up with $100,000 of student debt," Musk says. It spoke of the divorce of Elon's parents, Errol and Maye Musk, and also contained a quick mention of an emerald mine. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day.. "So I became a half-owner of the mine, and we got emeralds for the next six years," Errol said. I've tried everything. 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. But I've been in physical danger before. This article is actually accurate: https://t.co/eVpCX9V1NB. 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. "I'm naturally good at engineering that's because I inherited it from my father," he told Rolling Stone. Errol told BI that he was flying from his home in South Africa to the U.K. to sell the plane he was on, with a young Elon in tow. FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT ERROL MUSK 1. He didnt own an emerald mine, and I worked my way through college, ending up [around] $100,000 in student debt, Elon tweeted. His parents divorced. I left South Africa by myself when I was 17 with just a backpack & suitcase of books. Aside from that hes just dumb. More answers and details are available in Arnold's article. Maye and Errol divorced in 1980 when Elon was about 9 years old. [15][16] At the time of their marriage, Jana Bezuidenhout was only four years old and lived together with them. He has a net worth of $2 million and is living quite comfortably. Esquire, 5 June 2015, https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a35508/elon-musk-college-years-canada-u-penn/. [2] His grandmother was the first chiropractor in Canada. While in Djibouti, he and his co-pilot sold their plane to some Italian nationals. [9], Errol Musk's claims that he invested in Elon Musk's software company Zip2 have been rejected by Elon Musk. Hes the son of Maye Musk, a model and dietitian from Canada, and Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor. 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. He also sent a link to another interview he did with Elon in 2016. 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. "She wasn't planned," Errol said of his youngest child. Errol employed a cutter in Johannesburg and sold the stones wherever his travels as an engineer or family holidays took him. R/EnoughMuskSpam via Reddit.com, 5 Dec. 2019, www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/e6j76f/his_family_stole_an_emerald_mine/. For the state of Texas, The Onion printed, "Elon Musk: Apartheid.". @Keewa tweeted on May 9, 2020, Remind: Elon Musk inherited money from his fathers apartheid emerald mine, that doesnt mean hes clever. Your membership is the foundation of our sustainability and resilience. 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. "Elon Musk Is the Hero America Deserves." 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. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done. Errol and Heide had two children together, Alexandra and Asha Rose. 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., Errol subsequently told the publication in an email: Ive been accused of being a Gay, a Misogynist, a Paedophile, a Traitor, a Rat, a St (quite often), a Bastard (by many women whose attentions I did not return) and much more. 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. I said, Oh, all right. So I became a half owner of the mine, and we got emeralds for the next six years.. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done., He was such a terrible human being. "Elon Musk's Family Once Owned an Emerald Mine in Zambia Here's the Fascinating Story of How They Came to Own It." We were very wealthy. The 51-year-old has refuted claims that he grew up rich amid statements that his father Errol owned an emerald mine in . 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. Copyright 2023 PopCulture.com. He will plan evil, Elon tearfully told Rolling Stone in 2017. The article was titled, "I Talked to Elon Musk about Journalism and the Blood Emeralds Story.". An avid pilot and sailor, as well as an electrical and mechanical engineer, he made his money consulting and developing properties and retired early. [17] Later in life, after splitting from Heide Bezuidenhout, he fathered two children with her daughter (his former step-daughter) Jana Bezuidenhout; a son born in 2017 and a daughter born in 2019. 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. 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. Imgur, 5 Dec. 2019, https://imgur.com/SHGhIY2. 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. "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. You have no idea. But the emerald mine story keeps coming back.