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. The headline of the story read, "Elon Musk Tells Me His Secret Of Success (Hint: It Ain't About The Money).". We did not receive a response from Forbes PR. That conversation is more valuable but less newsworthy than just resurfacing the same lazy claims every few months, which are guaranteed to get clicks. In the biography Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, author Ashlee Vance wrote that Errol invested $28,000 in Elon and Kimbal's then-fledgling company, Zip2. 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. 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 can't see any reason not to. Elon Musk: The Truth About His Dad and Emerald Mines, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes Should Remain On-Air Couple After ABC Exit, According to TV Host, King Charles' Reported Reason for Evicting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Revealed, Hoda Kotb Makes Brief 'Today Show' Appearance Amid Family Health Matter, 'Creed III': Why Sylvester Stallone and Rocky Balboa Are Missing From Latest Film, Disney World Brings Back 'Beauty & the Beast' Experience for First Time Since COVID-19 Pandemic Began, QVC Hosts Call it Quits After Nearly 20 Years, Florida Residents Urged to Use Caution With Tap Water After Man Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba. "So I became a half-owner of the mine, and we got emeralds for the next six years," Errol said. He has a net worth of $2 million and is living quite comfortably. 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. Errol was born in South Africa to a British mother and a South African father. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Bridges to Italy tweeted, Yeah, hes not that bright, just like the guy who started this thread. ", Elon has said one of the reasons he is so skilled at engineering is because of his father. 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. This is going to sound slightly crazy, but my father also had a share in an Emerald mine in Zambia. So we went to this guy's prefab and he opened his safe and there was just stacks of money and he paid me out, 80,000, it was a huge amount of money, he said. Arnold's story included answers from Errol about the mine, who said he had "very limited involvement" in it. And he had a disastrous relationship with his father. "He didn't own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt. "Elon Musk Is the Hero America Deserves." [9], Errol Musk's claims that he invested in Elon Musk's software company Zip2 have been rejected by Elon Musk. Ashlee Vance interviewed hundreds of people. Its obvious why Musk would want to distance himself from apartheid in every possible way. He didnt own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt. Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and his mother, Maye Musk. 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. ---. For 14 free days, you can have access to a world of in-depth analyses, investigative journalism, top opinions and a range of features. [Jana] stayed here for about 18 months after Rushi was born. Like his son, the wealthy business owner who was once rumored to be the co-owner of a Zambian emerald mine has also been mired in controversy. 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. 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. 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. The Musk name might be one of the most recognizable on the planet, but little is known about its patriarch, Errol Musk. He just had a rich dad and a got lucky. The Buffalo News via San Jose Mercury News via Newspapers.com, 20 Apr. It didn't work out too well in the end," he said. "Can Elon Musk Really Get Us To Mars Within 10 Years?" Eligon, John, and Lynsey Chutel. "Bezos' Comments on Workers after Spaceflight Draws Rebuke." [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]. Rumor is Errol Musk owned an emerald mine. ", 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. The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2009, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/08/24/plugged-in. But I've been in physical danger before. Jordan Liles is a Snopes reporter with expertise in investigating misinformation, inauthentic social media activity, and scams. ", Five days later on Feb. 28, Business Insider SA published a second article with the headline, "Elon Musk's family owns an emerald mine in Zambia here's the fascinating story of how they came to own it.". Elon was a witness to this, bullets flying around, Cattrell further claimed. 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. . 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. Elon Musk's father planned to fly a plane from South Africa to England and sell it once they got there. When Errol and Maye divorced in 1979, a then-8-year-old Elon chose to live with his dad. Note: Some of the tweets that promoted the rumor said that Elon did not found Tesla, which was true. In 1970, Errol married modelMaye Haldeman Musk before the pair welcomed three children: Elon, Kimbal and Tosca. Ive tried everything. He will plan evil, Elon tearfully told Rolling Stone in 2017. 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. With his new riches, Errol also bought half of an emerald mine. On holidays, Errol and his kids would travel, he said: to Europe, Hong Kong, throughout the United States. 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. On Feb. 23, 2018, Business Insider SA published a story with the headline, "'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." But that's more or less where the good fortune ended. 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. One of their homes was in Waterkloof, a leafy suburb of Pretoria that was popular with foreign diplomats. Elon was said to be particularly furious that his father had impregnated his stepsister. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done.". Elon Musk addressed the recent social storm when claims related his family's emerald mines in apartheid-South Africa resurfaced online. He did the investment after selling a plane for about 80 000. "I was active in opposing the National Party and their apartheid," he said in the post." I said, Oh, all right. 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. de Wet, Phillip. As a child, Elon had a close relationship with his father and grew up prosperous in Pretoria. Born in 1971, Musk grew up in Pretoria, South Africa. This material may not be reproduced without permission. On Wednesday, Errol confirmed that he and Jana had welcomed a second child, a daughter who is now 3. Offers may be subject to change without notice. 1/2This article is false. He seemed very sad and lonely by himself. However, again, the story was at least partially unavailable on that website, too. 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. ", The Tesla founder also said there was no way to repair his relationship with his father. [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). And thats when Musk's father was offered half an emerald mine in return for half of his earnings. He can't have what he wants and now I am apparently an evil monster.". 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. They never made it to their destination. Facebook, 27 July 2020, https://www.facebook.com/errol.musk/posts/10218340000911015. 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. In Errol's case, we sent a message to his Facebook profile. 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. 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. Their half-sister.. [22] He is estranged from his son Elon. Clash, Jim. He talks about the risk factors for Bitcoin as an investment asset including origin risk, speculative market structure, regulatory, and environment. 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. Errol employed a cutter in Johannesburg and sold the stones wherever his travels as an engineer or family holidays took him. Copyright 2023 Market Realist. The 76-year-old is most notable for being Elons estranged father, with the pair famously falling out several years ago. Thereafter you will be billed R75 per month. 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. As Arnold noted, the headline for this story was later corrected more than two years after it was published, sometime around late July or early August 2020,according to page captures from the Internet Archive. Errol and a co-pilot were flying a plane from South Africa to England to sell the aircraft but when they couldn't make a scheduled stop in Saudi Arabia, he pivoted his plan and changed his life. Chromatica Warrior @DebbieTweeted Can he be held responsible for his dads ethics tho? Shame on you, Onion. 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. by Marilynn Manuel 13-02-2023 13:43 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. We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. Clash's same 2014 interview was also republished by AskMen.com on Jan. 2, 2015. Image via Instagram @mayemusk. "Everybody I knew called him 'the Pig' because he treated me so badly in public. Errol and Heide eventually divorced after an 18-year marriage. "I paid my own way through collegethrough student loans, scholarships, working jobsand ended up with $100,000 of student debt," Musk says. Esquire, 5 June 2015, https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a35508/elon-musk-college-years-canada-u-penn/. Their plane got diverted, which led to a chance meeting with Italians who wanted to buy the plane in cash. How much of a Momentum Proteas Womens cricket fan are you? Errol told Business Insider South Africa that he co-owned an emerald mine in Zambia. "They were confronted by it every day," he said. I felt sorry for my father, because my mother had all three kids. Elon and Kimbal allegedly sold 2 emeralds: one worth $800 and another worth $1200. I wish. By Michael Hein My dad was not physically violent with me. In the meantime, Musk continues to make waves on multiple technological fronts, all while raising concerns about workers' rights and income inequality. ---. Elon also denied that Errol invested in the company. "There's no evidence whatsoever of an 'emerald mine,'" the last part of the tweet read. Vance wrote, "For what it's worth, my reporting, based on conversations with hundreds of people, confirms Musk's story. He also claimed, "My father & his extended family have been dependent on financial support from my brother & me for over 20 years.". The way Errol tells it, that all started with an inconvenient religious holiday. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. After Maye and Errol divorced in 1980, Elon mostly lived with his father, who says he owned thoroughbred horses, a yacht, several houses and a Cessna. SpaceX, his rocket company, is valued at $20 billion-plus. He has also fathered two children, a son and a daughter, with his stepdaughter Jana Bezuidenhout. 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? 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. 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. "There was just stacks of money and he paid me out, 80,000, it was a huge amount of money." He is the father of business magnate and billionaire Elon Musk, restaurateur Kimbal Musk, and filmmaker Tosca Musk. ", He grew up in South Africa and had the good fortune of doing so in an upper-middle-class home. Jump to Main content Search Account Menu icon A vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal. On May 22, 2020, Bloomberg.com published an interview with Elon, which was penned by Ashlee Vance. The buyer also offered Errol the option to buy half of an emerald mine with that cash. The story also included the same information from Elon's tweets where he said again that he had "ended up with $100,000 of student debt. "Elon Musk's Family Once Owned an Emerald Mine in Zambia Here's the Fascinating Story of How They Came to Own It." People.Com, 7 Nov. 2022, https://people.com/human-interest/who-is-errol-musk-elon-musk-father/. Errol was a successful consulting engineer, and also owned an emerald mine in Zambia. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done," Elon said. The 76-year-old hasnt ruled out having more children, saying: The only thing we are on Earth for is to reproduce.. 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. Black Americans Have the Highest Mortality Rates But Lowest Levels of Life Insurance 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. All rights reserved. Britannica.com, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zip2. According to the Internet Archive, the article was still available months after it was published, onSept. 1, 2014, but was gone by Sept. 18. At some point after the shooting, the relationship between dad Errol and son Elon soured. He was married to Maye Musk and also to Heide Musk, with whom he has two children, Alexandra and Rose. (We'll have more on Vance's Bloomberg.com interview later in this story.). His net worth is. coming from?. 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. 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. In an interview with Express, Cattrell recalled: One night, they were sitting in the living room and his dad said Everybody down! To summarize Arnold's story would be difficult, as it contained a considerable amount of data and analysis. According to the Twitter flag, Musk claimed in 2014 to Forbes that he had an emerald mine in Zambia. 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. Ask him." Theyre the same, except for the fact that he is a billionaire, started multiple successful companies and doesnt live in his mothers basement. Maye and Errol divorced in 1980 when Elon was about 9 years old. 2021, https://www.theonion.com/the-richest-person-in-every-state-and-how-they-made-the-1846312073. It spoke of the divorce of Elon's parents, Errol and Maye Musk, and also contained a quick mention of an emerald mine. 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.". "What's very difficult for others is easy for me. Are you prioritizing your cable entertainment bill over protecting and investing in your family? "'His Family Stole an Emerald Mine.'" [21] As of 2022, Musk and Jana Bezuidenhout were no longer living together. 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. The Associated Press, 20 July 2021, https://apnews.com/article/business-science-3546262d41f4c84763aa15339f642a5a. I left South Africa by myself when I was 17 with just a backpack & suitcase of books. 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). 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.. Journalism strengthens democracy. 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 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 . In the past, the Tesla CEO hasrespondedseveral times on Twitter about the emerald mine rumors. We've received your submission. - February 10, 2021 02:34 pm EST. However, any reconciliation was apparently short-lived. After obtaining the mine, he tells that he had so much money, that 'he couldn't close his safe'. ", According to the story, Errol said that Elon "once walked the streets of New York with emeralds in his pocket." Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done. Kaizer Chiefs to sign more Swallows players. 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. So I became a half owner of the mine, and we got emeralds for the next six years.. They also emphasize anecdotes from Elon and his mother about the hard work and squalor they endured in Canada in those years. "Elon Musk Is the Hero America Deserves." First, we have republished past statements from both Errol and Elon. There was a shooting in the living room, and I guess his father shot them dead. 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." In 2018, Musk also told Business Insider that his father Errol purchased a 50 per cent share in the mine after selling a plane. 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. In an interview with Business Insider South Africa, Errol admitted that, at one point, he literally made more money than he could physically handle. ", 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. "Elon Musk Tells Me His Secret Of Success (Hint: It Ain't About The Money)." Get down!'. TheSouthAfrican.com is all about South Africa and the stories that affect South Africans, wherever they are in the world. The funny thing is I've not actually been that nervous. 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). 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. Kaizer Chiefs to sign more Stellenbosch players? Whats very difficult for others is easy for me. "Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done It's so terrible, you can't believe it. "We were very wealthy. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done, he continued. I said, Oh, all right. ". Elon and other family members have opened up about years of living in debt after they left South Africa. The Onion, 22 Mar. . Earlier in this story, we referenced a July 3, 2020, tweet from Elon that mentioned Vance's interview. Answer these 2 simple questions & WIN R1000 in cash! Imgur, 5 Dec. 2019, https://imgur.com/SHGhIY2. Invest in the future today. 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.. 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. Errol and a co-pilot were flying a plane from. The funding we raised for our first company came from a small group of random angel investors in Silicon Valley. 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. 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.