[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]. Whats very difficult for others is easy for me. 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," he told the outlet. He didnt own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt. "Zip2." I wish. We did not receive a response from Forbes PR. [13] After engaging in extra-marital affairs,[4] Errol and Maye divorced in 1979, and both sons moved in with their father. 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. It didn't work out too well in the end," he said. 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? Rumor is Errol Musk owned an emerald mine. On July 28, 2014, Forbes.com published an interview with Elon Musk, which was conducted by Jim Clash. He was such a terrible human being, Musk told the magazine. [21] As of 2022, Musk and Jana Bezuidenhout were no longer living together. Several decades ago, Errol allegedly shot and killed three armed intruders who broke into his Johannesburg home. Elon Musk addresses emerald mines and apartheid claims - The South African Note: Reporting from Esquire.com said that Elon moved from South Africa to Canada in 1988. It spoke of the divorce of Elon's parents, Errol and Maye Musk, and also contained a quick mention of an emerald mine. "We went to this guy's prefab [home] and he opened his safe," Errol said. This story was picked up by other news outlets and peddled as a sign of the Musk family's "lavish lifestyle. He attended Queens University in Canada. Here is the incredible true story of Errol Musk and the striking similarities he shares with his powerful son. Fact Check: Did Elon Musk Inherit Apartheid Money From His - Moguldom Copyright Blue Sky Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved. The article was republished in several other newspapers around the U.S. mark_able_jones_. This story will be updated if any further details come to light. Get to Know Errol Musk, Elon's "Brilliant," "Terrible" Father - MSN Meet. 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. Elon Musk does not care about Black people.Example after example after example. This is a pretty awful lie, Elon tweeted. The billionaire, who was born in South Africa, took to Twitter to answer claims made by The Onion about how his family made their money in apartheid South Africa. He will plan evil. 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. There was a shooting in the living room, and I guess his father shot them dead. Thereafter you will be billed R75 per month. 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. Elon Musk Once Called His Father, Errol Musk, a 'Terrible Human' 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. All the Musk siblings did well, Forbes reported. 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. R/EnoughMuskSpam via Reddit.com, 5 Dec. 2019, www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/e6j76f/his_family_stole_an_emerald_mine/. Errol has long since retired from the engineering business and now lives a quiet life in the Western Cape in South Africa. ", Elon has said one of the reasons he is so skilled at engineering is because of his father. 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, 51, was brought to tears discussing his dad in a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone, describing him as evil and a terrible human being.. ", Errol and Elon have an acrimonious relationship. In 2018, Musk also told Business Insider that his father Errol purchased a 50 per cent share in the mine after selling a plane. Its obvious why Musk would want to distance himself from apartheid in every possible way. He also added, "'Self-made billionaires' are a myth." But I didnt really understand at the time what kind of person he was. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com, Image Via PHILIP PACHECO/AFP via Getty Images. The billionaire, who was born in South Africa, took to. So we had this planeload of contraband and an overdue passport from another person. I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day.. 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. 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.". Viral: When Elon Musk's bank account was in negative due to student 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." . Copyright 2023 PopCulture.com. He also called the whole rumor "BS.". Soon after Elon left for Canada, his mother, Maye, moved there too, along with Elons brother, Kimbal, and sister, Tosca. "Nothing, nothing. 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. ", She added, "He was very rich, but he made sure I had nothing. 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). [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. According to a Facebook post from Errol, the Zambian emerald mine he held a stake in "collapsed in 1989. Bridges to Italy tweeted, Yeah, hes not that bright, just like the guy who started this thread. 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." 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. As well as providing links, people started commenting Musk's own words back at him under his tweet. He had this sense that it was definitely not a safe place to be, and he had to get the hell out.. Elon Musk was highlighted as the wealthiest resident of Texas, Americas second-biggest state. 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. 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. He did the investment after selling a plane for about 80 000. Kaizer Chiefs to sign more Swallows players. In the past, the Tesla CEO hasrespondedseveral times on Twitter about the emerald mine rumors. "'His Family Stole an Emerald Mine.'" He's having a tantrum, like a spoilt child. He was only physically violent when I was very young., He also said, You have no idea about how bad. "Errol also quoted a lower number to me over the phone," Arnold wrote. ", The Tesla founder also said there was no way to repair his relationship with his father. [4], Musk met Maye Haldeman when he was 11 years old and they were childhood friends before marrying in 1970. 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. "Can Elon Musk Really Get Us To Mars Within 10 Years?" 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. What We Know About Elon Musk and the Emerald Mine Rumor [10][11] Musk told Agence France-Presse that he was a strict father who raised his children with discipline and austerity. "And we got emeralds for the next six years.". He would throw out everything they arrived with, so I had to buy them all new clothes and school things. The 76-year-old is most notable for. This is not true," Elon told Rolling Stone in 2017. 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. Jump to Main content Search Account Menu icon A vertical stack of three evenly spaced horizontal. I arrived by myself in Canada in 89 with ~CA$2500 Paid my own way through college, ending with ~$100k student debt Started 1st company with no funding & just one computer I built Theres no evidence whatsoever of an emerald mine, 2/2My father & his extended family have been dependent on financial support from my brother & me for over 20 years. All About Errol Musk." [2] His grandmother was the first chiropractor in Canada. In that context, its probably understandable that Musk decided enough was enough and felt he needed to answer the claims online. 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. After obtaining the mine, he tells that he had so much money, that 'he couldn't close his safe'. 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. Ashlee Vance interviewed hundreds of people. He can't have what he wants and now I am apparently an evil monster.". After the divorce, Elon lived with his father in Pretoria, where he attended Pretoria Boys High. 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. 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. The claim attracted a response from the billionaire, who said that the claim isn't true. My dad was not physically violent with me. With his new riches, Errol also bought half of an emerald mine. D'Innocenzio, Anne. When Errol and Maye divorced in 1979, a then-8-year-old Elon chose to live with his dad. In my experience, there is nothing you can do, Elon said of Errol. 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.. Arnold, Jeremy. "'His Family Stole an Emerald Mine.'" ---. It was a lucrative decision. 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. All Rights Reserved. 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. Esquire, 5 June 2015, https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a35508/elon-musk-college-years-canada-u-penn/. Elon Musk's family once owned an emerald mine in Zambia here's the 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 2017, Errol told Rolling Stone that while he has never intentionally hurt or threatened anyone, he once shot and killed a group of burglars at his home in Johannesburg, though he says he was cleared of all charges because he acted in self-defense. And he had a disastrous relationship with his father. Forbes, 1 Oct. 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2016/10/01/can-elon-musk-really-get-us-to-mars-within-10-years/. On their way to England, Errol and his copilot got word that their original flight plan was going to cost a lot of money. 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.. Clash, Jim. 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. 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). Ask him." "We went to . 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. 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. Hes the son of Maye Musk, a model and dietitian from Canada, and Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor. "I paid my own way through collegethrough student loans, scholarships, working jobsand ended up with $100,000 of student debt," Musk says. 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. But by many accounts, the issues at the Tesla factory go beyond the need for a thick skin, New York Times reported. 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. Elon Musk's father Errol was penniless in the '90s & Tesla chief helped "They didn't like it.". We had so much money at times we couldn't even close our safe," Errol said, explaining that one person would hold the money down while a second would slam the safe door shut. 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. On Aug. 17, 2009, The New Yorker printed one of the earliest known searchable records of an emerald mine being tied to the Musk name. 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. His mother Maye responded on Twitter in December 2019 in defense of Elon. Maye and Errol divorced in 1980 when Elon was about 9 years old. But that's more or less where the good fortune ended. 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. While His Dad Was Sleeping." On Wednesday, Errol confirmed that he and Jana had welcomed a second child, a daughter who is now 3. 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. Its so terrible, you cant believe it.. Quora, 9 Mar. He once tweeted he arrived in 1989, not 1988, however. Aside from that hes just dumb. However, $800 was probably pocket change for the family, judging by what Musk's father told the site. All Rights Reserved. For a while, I thought things were so obvious that everyone must know this.". 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 headline of the story read, "Elon Musk Tells Me His Secret Of Success (Hint: It Ain't About The Money).". "The Richest Person In Every State And How They Made Their Money." They still dont like it. 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 . "Elon Musk Tells Me His Secret Of Success (Hint: It Ain't About The Money)." I've tried everything. 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. In the interview, the Tesla owner briefly mentioned that his father had a share in an emerald mine in Zambia. He just had a rich dad and a got lucky. 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. "So I became a half-owner of the mine, and we got emeralds for the next six years," Errol said. ---. Went to Queens Univ with scholarship & debt, then same to UPenn/Wharton & Stanford. "Like every abused woman, I was embarrassed, and I knew I had made a mistake, you know? Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 74: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin returns for a new season of the GHOGH podcast to discuss Bitcoin, bubbles, and Biden. "Elon Musk Is the Hero America Deserves." All rights reserved. Elon Musk isn't innovative. ", He grew up in South Africa and had the good fortune of doing so in an upper-middle-class home. Errol and a co-pilot were flying a plane from. The Musk name might be one of the most recognizable on the planet, but little is known about its patriarch, Errol Musk. "Elon Musk Hits out at US Professor over Emerald Mine Claims: 'Idiot and Liar.'" Errol and his stepdaughter, Jana Bezuidenhout, share two children. He began his career as an electromechanical engineer. Elon Musk Gets Triggered By A Joke From 'The Onion' - Forbes 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. "We were lonely, lost people," Errol said. "There's no evidence whatsoever of an 'emerald mine,'" the last part of the tweet read. ANC accuses De Ruyter of ruining its good name and reputation, BREAKING: Chiefs confirm another MASSIVE injury blow. 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. Black Americans Have the Highest Mortality Rates But Lowest Levels of Life Insurance The 51-year-old has refuted claims that he grew up rich amid statements that his father Errol owned an emerald mine in . And we spent three weeks making our rent-controlled apartment livable in Toronto, Maye tweeted. In addition, they offered Errol a chance to buy partial ownership of a Zambian emerald mine. "One thing led to another you can call it God's plan or nature's plan. Wanderlust ran on both sides of the family. Musk's father said that Tiffanys set the $800 emerald in a ring and offered it for $24,000, which he said was an object lesson in retail markup for the family. odakyu11. "They were confronted by it every day," he said. Musk, Errol. While he has given a few rare interviews, much of the publicly known information about him has come from his estranged son Elon or his ex-wife Maye Musk, neither of whom have had complimentary things to say about the engineer and onetime emerald mine owner. However, Errol also told the outlet that life in apartheid South Africa was ultimately "better" and "safer" than it is today. 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.