The way Errol tells it, that all started with an inconvenient religious holiday. 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.. "'His Family Stole an Emerald Mine.'" Musk's father, Errol, an engineer, married Maye when she was 22, and Musk was born shortly . One thing most of us can agree on is that there is a more nuanced conversation to be had about how Musk specifically and South Africas white population in general, even those who didnt own mines benefitted from apartheid. We did not receive a response before this story was published. [11][5] Maye has stated that Errol beat her. His tweet is now viral with over 9.1 million views. "She wasn't planned," Errol said of his youngest child. "The Man Who's Revolutionizing The Future Of Driving -- And The Universe." 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. 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. Whats very difficult for others is easy for me. [11] The family lived in Pretoria,[10][12] where Maye worked as a dietician and a model. Invest in the future today. Bill Gates' mom helped Microsoft get a deal with IBM. 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. Note: Some of the tweets that promoted the rumor said that Elon did not found Tesla, which was true. So it was very formative for him. [4], Musk met Maye Haldeman when he was 11 years old and they were childhood friends before marrying in 1970. 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. They also emphasize anecdotes from Elon and his mother about the hard work and squalor they endured in Canada in those years. And we spent three weeks making our rent-controlled apartment livable in Toronto, Maye tweeted. 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. 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. 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. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. I left South Africa by myself when I was 17 with just a backpack & suitcase of books. The 76-year-old is most notable for being Elons estranged father, with the pair famously falling out several years ago. "I paid my own way through collegethrough student loans, scholarships, working jobsand ended up with $100,000 of student debt," Musk says. 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. My Dad provided 10% of a ~$200k angel funding round much later, but by then risk was reduced & round would've happened anyway.". Not all the tweets were supportive of Elon. 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 . ", 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.". 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.". Heres his story. Meanwhile, Musk's defenders often say that the mogul has denied this story, though that is not precisely true either. 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. This material may not be reproduced without permission. Bloomberg.com, 22 May 2020, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-05-22/elon-musk-speaks-frankly-on-coronavirus-spacex-and-rage-tweets. In that context, its probably understandable that Musk decided enough was enough and felt he needed to answer the claims online. And I was too scared to tell anyone [about his violence]," Maye told Harper's Bazaar in 2019. ", 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. The tweet was shared as a screenshot on Imgur.com, which showed the image had been viewed more than 300,000 times. And, on at least one occasion, his now famous son also took his hand at dealing in the gems, with peculiar results. 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. 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. The netizen claimed that the Business Insider article didnt show the real extent of the Musk family profiting from apartheid. Instead, Musk has sought to dispel the general belief that he comes from wealth. [22] He is estranged from his son Elon. Ask him." Arnold's story included answers from Errol about the mine, who said he had "very limited involvement" in it. I left South Africa by myself when I was 17 with just a backpack & suitcase of books. 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. For what it's worth, my reporting, based on conversations with hundreds of people, confirms Musk's story. 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. What Happened: Musk's comments came on a Twitter. Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. 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. [Jana] stayed here for about 18 months after Rushi was born. Twitter, https://twitter.com/elonmusk/. "But I mean, we were living together. On July 28, 2014, Forbes.com published an interview with Elon Musk, which was conducted by Jim Clash. In South Africa, my father had a private plane we'd fly in incredibly dangerous weather and barely make it back. In an interview with Express, Cattrell recalled: One night, they were sitting in the living room and his dad said Everybody down! You have no idea.. The Tesla CEO has fathered 10 children. I couldn't find my passport so I ended up grabbing my brother's which turned out to be six months overdue! In my experience, there is nothing you can do, Elon said of Errol. Chromatica Warrior @DebbieTweeted Can he be held responsible for his dads ethics tho? Errol Musk was born in 1946 in Pretoria to Walter Henry James Musk and Cora Amelia Robinson. 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. The eccentric billionaire once again attempted to set the record straight about his familys emerald mines to respond to Twitter user @howlpolitically. 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. 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. 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. Errol Musk says teenage Elon Musk once casually walked around with emeralds in his pocket. Clearly, Elon Musk doesn't like being mocked. Father and son have a complicated history. "They just walked into Tiffany's and said, 'Do you want to buy some emeralds?' She won't speak to me or engage me if we're in the same room which we have been often.". It was authored by Jeremy Arnold with The Save Journalism Committee. ---. ", Errol and Elon have an acrimonious relationship. Went to Queens Univ with scholarship & debt, then same to UPenn/Wharton & Stanford., In a follow-up tweet, Elon said his father didnt own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt.. "There was just stacks of money and he paid me out, 80,000, it was a huge amount of money." Errol Musk is a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor. odakyu11. 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. He is the father of business magnate and billionaire Elon Musk, restaurateur Kimbal Musk, and filmmaker Tosca Musk. "Who Is Elon Musk's Estranged Father? Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done. We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. He told me over and over that I was stupid, ugly, boring. His parents divorced. "A Teenage Elon Musk Once Casually Sold His Father's Emeralds to Tiffany & Co. 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. For the state of Texas, The Onion printed, "Elon Musk: Apartheid.". But I've been in physical danger before. 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. Errol built his wealth as a prominent electromechanical engineer and entrepreneur in South Africa, reports The South African. The story included reporting of Elon's denials that the emerald mine had provided any seed money for the wealth he would later accumulate. Regardless of your opinion of him, he is aself-made billionaire." "The Richest Person In Every State And How They Made Their Money." Theyre the same, except for the fact that he is a billionaire, started multiple successful companies and doesnt live in his mothers basement. 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. All Rights Reserved. Still, it wasarchived by the Internet Archive. 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.. Where is this bs coming from? mark_able_jones_. 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. 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. The article attributed the source of Elon Musks wealth to apartheid. 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. An avid pilot and sailor, as well as an electrical and mechanical engineer, he made his money consulting and developing properties and retired early. Maye and Errol divorced in 1980 when Elon was about 9 years old. He was such a terrible human being, Musk told the magazine. 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. "They didn't like it.". 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. 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. Musk, Errol. He said, They just walked into Tiffanys and said, Do you want to buy some emeralds? And they sold two emeralds: one was for $800, and I think the other one was for $1,200. 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. The Tesla CEO once called his South African dad 'evil' and denied rumours of family wealth fuelled by an emerald mine - but are they ready to reconcile? In 2019, a Twitter user claimed that Musk's father Errol owned an emerald mine. According to the Twitter flag, Musk claimed in 2014 to Forbes that he had an emerald mine in Zambia. Elon and Kimbal allegedly sold 2 emeralds: one worth $800 and another worth $1200. "Elon Musk Is the Hero America Deserves." Elon was said to be particularly furious that his father had impregnated his stepsister. 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. With his new riches, Errol also bought half of an emerald mine. 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 patriarch confirmed the shootings to the publication in 2017, saying manslaughter charges were later dropped because he acted in self-defense. 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. 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.. 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. The Onion, a satirical publication, shared. "Elon Musk Tells Me His Secret Of Success (Hint: It Ain't About The Money)." In 2018, Musk also told Business Insider that his father Errol purchased a 50 per cent share in the mine after selling a plane. He is the father of business magnate and billionaire Elon Musk, restaurateur Kimbal Musk, and filmmaker Tosca Musk. It is often claimed that Musk's father, Errol Musk, once owned shares in a Zambian emerald mine, and that Musk subsequently enjoyed an . He will plan evil, Elon tearfully told Rolling Stone in 2017. 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. ", She added, "He was very rich, but he made sure I had nothing. Business Insider South Africa, 28 Feb. 2018, https://www.businessinsider.co.za/how-elon-musks-family-came-to-own-an-emerald-mine-2018-2. My dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. His net worth is. The article was titled, "I Talked to Elon Musk about Journalism and the Blood Emeralds Story.". "Elon Musk and the Emerald Mine." TheSouthAfrican.com is all about South Africa and the stories that affect South Africans, wherever they are in the world. Errol has long since retired from the engineering business and now lives a quiet life in the Western Cape in South Africa. He talks about the risk factors for Bitcoin as an investment asset including origin risk, speculative market structure, regulatory, and environment. [3][4], Musk worked as a pilot, a sailor, an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer, a consultant, and a property developer, before retiring early. The constant resurfacing of the story is probably what spurred Musk into replying on Twitter. "We were very wealthy. Vance, Ashlee. ---. 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. "[4][8], In 1972, he was elected to the Pretoria City Council as a representative of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party. Here is the incredible true story of Errol Musk and the striking similarities he shares with his powerful son. "I was active in opposing the National Party and their apartheid," he said in the post." 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. "Elon Musk: The College Years." "Tesla, Inc."Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tesla-Motors. [13] After engaging in extra-marital affairs,[4] Errol and Maye divorced in 1979, and both sons moved in with their father. 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 named his price, and a deal was done. 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. We've received your submission.