We contacted Elon publicly on Twitter. He didnt own an emerald mine, and I worked my way through college, ending up [around] $100,000 in student debt, Elon tweeted. mark_able_jones_. He told me over and over that I was stupid, ugly, boring. 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. He's the son of Maye Musk, a model and dietitian from Canada, and Errol Musk, a South African electromechanical engineer, pilot, and sailor. I was 15 and really wanted to go with him but didn't realize how dangerous it was. Answer these 2 simple questions & WIN R1000 in cash! In South Africa, my father had a private plane we'd fly in incredibly dangerous weather and barely make it back. "I was active in opposing the National Party and their apartheid," he said in the post." By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. 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. [Jana] stayed here for about 18 months after Rushi was born. 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. 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. They still dont like it. 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.. In December 2019, Elon denied the emerald mine-and-lavish-lifestyle story on Twitter, saying it was a lie. For 14 free days, you can have access to a world of in-depth analyses, investigative journalism, top opinions and a range of features. The Tesla CEO has fathered 10 children. ", According to the story, Errol said that Elon "once walked the streets of New York with emeralds in his pocket." "And we got emeralds for the next six years.". Business Insider South Africa, 28 Feb. 2018, https://www.businessinsider.co.za/how-elon-musks-family-came-to-own-an-emerald-mine-2018-2. "Elon Musk and the Emerald Mine." Arnold's story included answers from Errol about the mine, who said he had "very limited involvement" in it. He was married to Maye Musk and also to Heide Musk, with whom he has two children, Alexandra and Rose. After the divorce, Elon lived with his father in Pretoria, where he attended Pretoria Boys High. Arnold, Jeremy. Hull, Dana, and Patrick May. 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. In 1970, Errol married modelMaye Haldeman Musk before the pair welcomed three children: Elon, Kimbal and Tosca. 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. 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. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Elon would later get his own pilot's license but no longer has time to fly. "I said, 'Oh, all right.' Copyright Blue Sky Publications Ltd. All Rights Reserved. "'His Family Stole an Emerald Mine.'" [20] Musk has a total of seven children. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. "Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege." @Keewa tweeted on May 9, 2020, Remind: Elon Musk inherited money from his fathers apartheid emerald mine, that doesnt mean hes clever. 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. However, again, the story was at least partially unavailable on that website, too. The New York Times, 5 May 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/world/africa/elon-musk-south-africa.html. 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 . However, both Elon and . Errol and Heide eventually divorced after an 18-year marriage. 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. After the divorce, Elon lived mostly with his father until he left South Africa at age 17 partly to avoid conscription in the South African army. 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. For the state of Texas, The Onion printed, "Elon Musk: 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. Smart Policies are as low as $30 a month, No Medical Exam Required Elon Musk came from a family that owned an emerald mine in Apartheid South Africa. Musk readily jumps onto Twitter to refute the charges that his empire was forged with the aid of family wealth, and part of the reason he wanted to talk to merather comically given the rocket launch and, well, trollswas because the jabs bug him, and he hopes to set the record straight. 1/2This article is false. Move over, Elon theres another Musk hitting the headlines. Image via Instagram @mayemusk. In 1972, Errol was elected to the Pretoria City Council in his native South Africa. Errol. In an email to Rolling Stone, Musk's father said he smacked the Tesla CEO only once and on the bottom. He also said that the only criminal charges that had been filed against him from when he killed three home invaders in self-defense had been cleared. Market Realist is a registered trademark. By email, Clash told us he had no idea why it was no longer hosted by Forbes. In 2017, family members were left stunned when Jana became pregnant with Errols baby. Errol and Elons feud has reportedly been exacerbated by the patriarchs eyebrow-raising relationships. The netizen claimed that the Business Insider article didnt show the real extent of the Musk family profiting from apartheid. In an interview with Express, Cattrell recalled: One night, they were sitting in the living room and his dad said Everybody down! More answers and details are available in Arnold's article. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done. Quora, 9 Mar. He was only physically violent when I was very young., He also said, You have no idea about how bad. People.Com, 7 Nov. 2022, https://people.com/human-interest/who-is-errol-musk-elon-musk-father/. 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 April 2014, Dana Hull and Patrick May penned an article for San Jose's The Mercury News with the headline, "The otherworldly ambitions of Elon Musk." Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future. 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.. Where is this bs coming from? South Africa Blue Sky Publications (Pty) Ltd T/A TheSouthAfrican Number: 2005/028472/07. 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). I couldnt even afford a 2nd PC at Zip2, so programmed at night & website only worked during day. He would throw out everything they arrived with, so I had to buy them all new clothes and school things. 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. The constant resurfacing of the story is probably what spurred Musk into replying on Twitter. 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. "One thing led to another you can call it God's plan or nature's plan. 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. All About Errol Musk." TheSouthAfrican.com is all about South Africa and the stories that affect South Africans, wherever they are in the world. Heres his story. Regardless of your opinion of him, he is aself-made billionaire. 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. ", He grew up in South Africa and had the good fortune of doing so in an upper-middle-class home. On holidays, Errol and his kids would travel, he said: to Europe, Hong Kong, throughout the United States. He also called the whole rumor "BS.". R/EnoughMuskSpam via Reddit.com, 5 Dec. 2019, www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/e6j76f/his_family_stole_an_emerald_mine/. 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. I can't see any reason not to. Standing with the cash in his hand, Errol was made another offer he couldnt refuse: Would he like to buy half an emerald mine for half of his new riches? He has also fathered two children, a son and a daughter, with his stepdaughter Jana Bezuidenhout. "We went to this guy's prefab [home] and he opened his safe," Errol said. . Kaizer Chiefs to sign more Swallows players. [2] His grandmother was the first chiropractor in Canada. In an interview with Business Insider South Africa, Errol admitted that, at one point, he literally made more money than he could physically handle. He began his career as an electromechanical engineer. In addition, they offered Errol a chance to buy partial ownership of a Zambian emerald mine. Musk, Elon. My dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. 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. [18][19] Musk described the first child as unplanned. 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). [1] His father was a South African veteran of World War II and his mother was British. Theyre the same, except for the fact that he is a billionaire, started multiple successful companies and doesnt live in his mothers basement. It was a lucrative decision. In the interview, Musk's father explained that he bought his share of the emerald mine after selling a plane. Worked on my Moms cousins farm in Saskatchewan & a lumber mill in Vancouver. "My brother and I paid for college through scholarships, loans and working two jobs simultaneously. [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. The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2009, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/08/24/plugged-in. 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. "I'm naturally good at engineering that's because I inherited it from my father," he told Rolling Stone. Musk replied, linking to Jeremy Arnolds article, which gave Musks side of the story. 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. We sent these messages on Nov. 16, but did not receive responses before publishing this story on the following day. In a 2019 . * The headline of this article was updated toreflect that the Musk family once owned the mine in question, and no longer do. Facebook, 27 July 2020, https://www.facebook.com/errol.musk/posts/10218340000911015. Note: The reference to Zip2 concerned Elon's "first enterprise" in 1995. 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. 2023 The Moguldom Nation. While His Dad Was Sleeping." AskMen, 2 Jan. 2015, https://www.askmen.com/entertainment/right-stuff/elon-musk-interview.html. It was kind of weird for them to walk into Tiffanys. 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/. He is the father of business magnate and billionaire Elon Musk, restaurateur Kimbal Musk, and filmmaker Tosca Musk. "We went to . He added that Elon left the country as "a clear indication of his willingness to not support the political suppression in the country. Black Americans Have the Highest Mortality Rates But Lowest Levels of Life Insurance 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. 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 article was titled, "I Talked to Elon Musk about Journalism and the Blood Emeralds Story.". 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. 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. r/EnoughMuskSpam via Reddit.com, 18 Dec. 2021, https://www.reddit.com/r/EnoughMuskSpam/comments/rj689s/elon_musk_and_the_emerald_mine/. ", 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.". "He also claims he was getting emeralds from other sources, with only 60-70% coming from this venture." 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. Errol Musk, an engineer, owned a small percentage of an emerald mine and had a couple of good years before the mine went bust and wiped out his investment. . Britannica.com, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zip2. 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. Its unclear how old Elon was at the time and whether he was even present is in dispute. [11] The family lived in Pretoria,[10][12] where Maye worked as a dietician and a model. 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. To summarize Arnold's story would be difficult, as it contained a considerable amount of data and analysis. 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. Clash, Jim. He is the father of business magnate and billionaire Elon Musk, restaurateur Kimbal Musk, and filmmaker Tosca Musk. "He didn't own an emerald mine & I worked my way through college, ending up ~$100k in student debt. 2021, https://savingjournalism.substack.com/p/i-talked-to-elon-musk-about-journalism. We went to this guys prefab, and he opened his safe, and there [were] just stacks of money, and he paid me out 80,000, It was a huge amount of money, he said. The funny thing is I've not actually been that nervous. "We were lonely, lost people," Errol said. We did not receive a response from Forbes PR. "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. He did the investment after selling a plane for about 80 000. Clash's same 2014 interview was also republished by AskMen.com on Jan. 2, 2015. 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. By Michael Hein 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. The child, a boy named Elliot Rush, is now 5 years old.