Move over, Elon theres another Musk hitting the headlines. Born in 1971, Musk grew up in Pretoria, South Africa. He is the father of Elon Musk, the CEO of 'SpaceX,' 'Tesla, Inc.,' and 'Neuralink' and one of the co-founders of 'PayPal.' Errol is mostly known for his scandalous life and his estranged relationship with his children. Errol told Business Insider South Africa that he co-owned an emerald mine in Zambia. According to the Internet Archive, the article was still available months after it was published, onSept. 1, 2014, but was gone by Sept. 18. The user tweeted: If this is half of an article is a small glimpse into the apartheid mines his [family-owned] haha even [T]he Onion tells more truthful stories than CNN and Fox. I wish. He attended Queens University in Canada. ", "You have no idea about how bad. While His Dad Was Sleeping." In Errol's case, we sent a message to his Facebook profile. From impregnating his stepdaughter to the emerald mine, here's what we know about Elon Musk's South African father Errol Musk. He was married to Maye Musk and also to Heide Musk, with whom he has two children, Alexandra and Rose. With his new riches, Errol also bought half of an emerald mine. Journalism strengthens democracy. The narrative of Elon Musks wealth coming from his familys apartheid gains is one that started a few years ago when Business Insider wrote an article highlighting the Musk familys involvement in mining during SAs apartheid years. Imgur, 5 Dec. 2019, https://imgur.com/SHGhIY2. The constant resurfacing of the story is probably what spurred Musk into replying on Twitter. 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. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. In an interview with Express, Cattrell recalled: One night, they were sitting in the living room and his dad said Everybody down! 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. Are you prioritizing your cable entertainment bill over protecting and investing in your family? 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 was such a terrible human being, Musk told the magazine. "Zip2." [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). I felt sorry for my father, because my mother had all three kids. 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. Twitter, https://twitter.com/elonmusk/. Note: The reference to Zip2 concerned Elon's "first enterprise" in 1995. 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. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com, Image Via PHILIP PACHECO/AFP via Getty Images. 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. "I said, 'Oh, all right.' After the divorce, Elon lived with his father in Pretoria, where he attended Pretoria Boys High. 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. He is the father of business magnate and billionaire Elon Musk, restaurateur Kimbal Musk, and filmmaker Tosca Musk. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. Clash, Jim. Its so terrible, you cant believe it.. In the interview, the Tesla owner briefly mentioned that his father had a share in an emerald mine in Zambia. Elon called the story "actually accurate." 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. "They just walked into Tiffany's and said, 'Do you want to buy some emeralds?' Arnold, Jeremy. Where is this bs coming from?" 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 contacted Elon publicly on Twitter. "We were lonely, lost people," Errol said. Beyond that, we were unable to find any evidence that showed money generated from his father's involvement in the mine helped Elon build his wealth in North America. Related stories Making better AI is Elon Musk's new object of . Errol Musk, the family's patriarch, is in the news after confirming he fathered a second secret love child with his stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout, 35. Went to Queens Univ with scholarship & debt, then same to UPenn/Wharton & Stanford. ---. And, on at least one occasion, his now famous son also took his hand at dealing in the gems, with peculiar results. By some accounts, Elon is reported to have witnessed the attack, with Errol later telling Rolling Stone that he acted in self-defense; he was never convicted of any crime. Father and son have a complicated history. I left South Africa by myself when I was 17 with just a backpack & suitcase of books. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done. mark_able_jones_. Hull, Dana, and Patrick May. 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. First, we have republished past statements from both Errol and Elon. Errol. He also claimed, "My father & his extended family have been dependent on financial support from my brother & me for over 20 years.". Errol was a successful consulting engineer, and also owned an emerald mine in Zambia. This is not true," Elon told Rolling Stone in 2017. He also added, "'Self-made billionaires' are a myth." "My brother and I paid for college through scholarships, loans and working two jobs simultaneously. coming from?. ", Errol and Elon have an acrimonious relationship. Their plane got diverted, which led to a chance meeting with Italians who wanted to buy the plane in cash. 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. 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. Shame on you, Onion. The 51-year-old has refuted claims that he grew up rich amid statements that his father Errol owned an emerald mine in South Africa. Elon Musk isn't innovative. Wayback Machine. However, Errol also told the outlet that life in apartheid South Africa was ultimately "better" and "safer" than it is today. 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 . Elon was a witness to this, bullets flying around, Cattrell further claimed. In 2018, Musk also told Business Insider that his father Errol purchased a 50 per cent share in the mine after selling a plane. 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. "What's very difficult for others is easy for me. We sent these messages on Nov. 16, but did not receive responses before publishing this story on the following day. It was that lifestyle, Errol says, that turned Elon into the kind of merchant adventurer who would laterbreak the rules of the motoring businesswith Tesla, then go on tochange spaceflight with SpaceX, BI reported. I left South Africa by myself when I was 17 with just a backpack & suitcase of books. 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. In a 2017 email to employees which the company later released in response to one of the lawsuits, Elon warned against being a huge jerk to members of a historically less represented group. He also wrote, if someone is a jerk to you, but sincerely apologizes, it is important to be thick-skinned and accept that apology.. "I paid my own way through collegethrough student loans, scholarships, working jobsand ended up with $100,000 of student debt," Musk says. "We went to . The New York Times, 5 May 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/world/africa/elon-musk-south-africa.html. So I became a half owner of the mine, and we got emeralds for the next six years.". Not all the tweets were supportive of Elon. ---. So it was very formative for him. 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. 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. Jack @lets_gobaby tweeted, Ok but how does inheriting money mean you arent smart?. 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. Musk, Elon. In South Africa, my father had a private plane we'd fly in incredibly dangerous weather and barely make it back. 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.. Kaizer Chiefs to sign more Swallows players. We did not receive a response before this story was published. 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. It would have been great if someone was paying for my college, but my dad had neither the ability nor the inclination to do so. Errol has long since retired from the engineering business and now lives a quiet life in the Western Cape in South Africa. He didnt own an emerald mine, and I worked my way through college, ending up [around] $100,000 in student debt, Elon tweeted. And thats when Musk's father was offered half an emerald mine in return for half of his earnings. We reached out to Clash and Forbes PR to ask why the interview was no longer available. His grandmother broke barriers of her own, becoming the first-ever chiropractor in Canada. R/EnoughMuskSpam via Reddit.com, 5 Dec. 2019, www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/e6j76f/his_family_stole_an_emerald_mine/. Bridges to Italy tweeted, Yeah, hes not that bright, just like the guy who started this thread. South Africa Blue Sky Publications (Pty) Ltd T/A TheSouthAfrican Number: 2005/028472/07. Eligon, John, and Lynsey Chutel. de Wet, Phillip. ", 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 a rare interview with Forbes, Errol revealed that his parents were the first to ever fly from South Africa to Australia in a single-engine airplane. [10] She gave birth to three children; Elon Reeve Musk born on 28 June 1971, Kimbal Reeve Musk born on 20 September 1972, and Tosca Musk born on 20 July 1974. "Tesla, Inc."Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tesla-Motors. The Onion, 22 Mar. This material may not be reproduced without permission. Inside the fabulous Dior couture world of 'Mrs. The Twitter account no longer exists. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done, he continued. We were very wealthy. He didnt own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt. I said, Oh, all right. 1995 - 2023 by Snopes Media Group Inc. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done. In that context, its probably understandable that Musk decided enough was enough and felt he needed to answer the claims online. 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. He told The New York Times that as a member of the Progressive Party, he opposed apartheid.
Gigi Dead Body,
How To Change Deadzone Shape Rocket League Epic Games,
Articles E