Who is Errol Musk? Five things to know about Elon's SA father The buyer also offered Errol the option to buy half of an emerald mine with that cash. Black Americans Have the Highest Mortality Rates But Lowest Levels of Life Insurance ", Elon has said one of the reasons he is so skilled at engineering is because of his father. In the mid 1980s, Elon Musks father Errol and a copilot were on their way to England aboard a plane they hoped to sell when they landed there. The way Errol tells it, that all started with an inconvenient religious holiday. Almost every crime you can possibly think of, he has done, he continued. 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 . "We were going to fly into Jeddah and there was a religious holiday, and they said if we come in now we have to pay $2,000, but if we wait 10 days we can come in at no charge," he recalled to Business Insider. "I started my first company with $2,500, and I had one computer and a car that I bought for $1,400, and all that debt. 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. Image via Instagram @mayemusk. In that way, Errol might be like estranged Elon after all. He began his career as an electromechanical engineer. After the divorce, Elon lived with his father in Pretoria, where he attended Pretoria Boys High. We did not receive a response before this story was published. "There was just stacks of money and he paid me out, 80,000, it was a huge amount of money." Note: Less than two weeks after Arnold's piece was published in 2021, the satirical website The Onion printed a story with the headline, "The Richest Person In Every State And How They Made Their Money." ", 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. 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. [11][5] Maye has stated that Errol beat her. Who Is Elon Musk's Estranged Father? All About Errol Musk "Elon Musk Left a South Africa That Was Rife With Misinformation and White Privilege." 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. 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. Its so terrible, you cant believe it.. For the state of Texas, The Onion printed, "Elon Musk: Apartheid.". 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. Behind the billions: Errol Musk's net worth, scandals and more "There's no evidence whatsoever of an 'emerald mine,'" the last part of the tweet read. 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. "Tesla, Inc."Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tesla-Motors. Behind the billions: Inside Errol Musk's emerald mine, net worth & scandals 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.". We sent these messages on Nov. 16, but did not receive responses before publishing this story on the following day. Elon Musk was highlighted as the wealthiest resident of Texas, Americas second-biggest state. According to the story, "When [Elon] was elevenabout the time that he sold his first piece of software, a video game called Blastar Musk told his mother that he was going to move back to Pretoria to live with his father, Errol, an electrical engineer who would later own an auto-parts store and a share in an emerald mine.". 1/2This article is false. He can't have what he wants and now I am apparently an evil monster.". "I was active in opposing the National Party and their apartheid," he said in the post." From impregnating his stepdaughter to the emerald mine, here's what we know about Elon Musk's South African father Errol Musk. The eccentric billionaire once again attempted to set the record straight about his familys emerald mines to respond to Twitter user @howlpolitically. 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. He once tweeted he arrived in 1989, not 1988, however. Note: The reference to Zip2 concerned Elon's "first enterprise" in 1995. We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred. I wish. Friend, Tad. The Musk name might be one of the most recognizable on the planet, but little is known about its patriarch, Errol Musk. Elon Musk's Dad Tells BI About the Family's Casual Attitude to Wealth [3][4], Musk worked as a pilot, a sailor, an electrical engineer, a mechanical engineer, a consultant, and a property developer, before retiring early. 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. Note: Reporting from Esquire.com said that Elon moved from South Africa to Canada in 1988. Instead, Musk has sought to dispel the general belief that he comes from wealth. First, we have republished past statements from both Errol and Elon. Musk, Errol. 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. Get to Know Errol Musk, Elon's "Brilliant," "Terrible" Father The 76-year-old is most notable for. [10][11] Musk told Agence France-Presse that he was a strict father who raised his children with discipline and austerity. Kimbal is a millionaire who owns restaurant chains and spearheads a nonprofit education program, The Kitchen Community, which grows vegetables in the U.S. Tosca is a film producer and director. His children were reportedly influenced by his liberal political views. Elon Musk has a wild story!" he captioned it. In December 2019, Elon denied the emerald mine-and-lavish-lifestyle story on Twitter, saying it was a lie. Address: Regus Business Centre 1st Floor, Block B, North Park, Black River Park, 2 Fir Street, Observatory, Cape Town, 7925, South Africa Postal: Blue Sky Publications (Pty) Ltd T/A TheSouthAfrican, PO Box 44354, Claremont, 7735, South Africa, United Kingdom Blue Sky Publications Ltd Company Registration Number: 04683692. He attended Queens University in Canada. All the Musk siblings did well, Forbes reported. Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done., He was such a terrible human being. Business Insider South Africa, 23 Feb. 2018, https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musks-dad-tells-bi-about-the-familys-casual-attitude-to-wealth-2018-2. ", According to the story, Errol said that Elon "once walked the streets of New York with emeralds in his pocket." My dad will have a carefully thought-out plan of evil. 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. Bloomberg.com, 22 May 2020, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-05-22/elon-musk-speaks-frankly-on-coronavirus-spacex-and-rage-tweets. How much of a Momentum Proteas Womens cricket fan are you? That conversation is more valuable but less newsworthy than just resurfacing the same lazy claims every few months, which are guaranteed to get clicks. When Errol and Maye divorced in 1979, a then-8-year-old Elon chose to live with his dad. 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. "We went to . 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. Business Insider South Africa, 28 Feb. 2018, https://www.businessinsider.co.za/how-elon-musks-family-came-to-own-an-emerald-mine-2018-2. Musk, Elon. In times of uncertainty you need journalism you can trust. "Everybody I knew called him 'the Pig' because he treated me so badly in public. [15][16] At the time of their marriage, Jana Bezuidenhout was only four years old and lived together with them. Click Here to Get Smart on Protecting Your Family and Loves Ones, No Matter What Happens. 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. Get to Know Errol Musk, Elon's "Brilliant," "Terrible" Father - MSN Elon Musk: The Truth About His Dad and Emerald Mines - Trending Get down!'. They never made it to their destination. The child, a boy named Elliot Rush, is now 5 years old. mark_able_jones_. 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.. Elon Musk Says He and His Brother Financed Their Father Errol Since 1990s "Is It True That Elon Musk's Family Got Their Wealth from Apartheid Emerald Mining?" 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. He would throw out everything they arrived with, so I had to buy them all new clothes and school things. ". Vance, Ashlee. Elliot Rush Musk Biography: Age, Networth and All you need to know Jordan Liles is a Snopes reporter with expertise in investigating misinformation, inauthentic social media activity, and scams. For a while, I thought things were so obvious that everyone must know this.". * The headline of this article was updated toreflect that the Musk family once owned the mine in question, and no longer do. "Almost every evil thing you could possibly think of, he has done It's so terrible, you can't believe it. Errol Musk says teenage Elon Musk once casually walked around with emeralds in his pocket. The Onion, a satirical publication, shared. On holidays, Errol and his kids would travel, he said: to Europe, Hong Kong, throughout the United States. Errol and Heide had two children together, Alexandra and Asha Rose. It was a lucrative decision. 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. He is the father of business magnate and billionaire Elon Musk, restaurateur Kimbal Musk, and filmmaker Tosca Musk. Elon Musk sets record straight on emerald mine and - TESLARATI Vance wrote, "For what it's worth, my reporting, based on conversations with hundreds of people, confirms Musk's story. I've tried everything. 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.. The article was republished in several other newspapers around the U.S. 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 up ~$100k in student debt. Elon Musk, After Emerald Mine Twitter Spat, Says Father Errol Ran Out Who Is Elon Musk's Dad Errol Musk? | Entrepreneur What We Know About Elon Musk and the Emerald Mine Rumor I left South Africa by myself when I was 17 with just a backpack & suitcase of books. 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. Errol Musk said he bought half of an emerald mine after selling a plane. And thats when Musk's father was offered half an emerald mine in return for half of his earnings. Quora, 9 Mar. " he told the outlet. "'His Family Stole an Emerald Mine.'" 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. I said, Oh, all right. CEO Elon Musk said his father Errol ran out of money in the '90s and was provided financial support by the entrepreneur and his brother. "Elon Musk Hits out at US Professor over Emerald Mine Claims: 'Idiot and Liar.'" He added that Elon left the country as "a clear indication of his willingness to not support the political suppression in the country. 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. 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 was such a terrible human being. He will plan evil. ---. [20] Musk has a total of seven children. He is the father of business magnate and billionaire Elon Musk, restaurateur Kimbal Musk, and filmmaker Tosca Musk. coming from?. 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. Elon and other family members have opened up about years of living in debt after they left South Africa. 2023 The Moguldom Nation. Errol Musk - Wikipedia 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. We contacted Elon publicly on Twitter. 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. "I said, 'Oh, all right.' Forbes, 1 Oct. 2016, https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2016/10/01/can-elon-musk-really-get-us-to-mars-within-10-years/. Has even greenlit racism by saying those on receiving end need thick skin.https://t.co/DhpANcrqNp https://t.co/OESO1BJTtE, Can he be held responsible for his dad's ethics tho? According to the Internet Archive, the article was still available months after it was published, onSept. 1, 2014, but was gone by Sept. 18. Below we have provided a small sampling of the many different ways the rumor has been framed in past years. Hull, Dana, and Patrick May. "The Richest Person In Every State And How They Made Their Money." Errol also added that his children were keenly aware of the country's government-sanctioned racial segregation. 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. - February 10, 2021 02:34 pm EST. Eligon, John, and Lynsey Chutel. And, on at least one occasion, his now famous son also took his hand at dealing in the gems, with peculiar results. 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. He also claimed, "My father & his extended family have been dependent on financial support from my brother & me for over 20 years.". Invest in the future today. 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. Errol Musk bought 50% of the emerald mine in 1969 for about 40,000, which is equal to about 160 000 today. It was a lucrative decision. In an interview with Business Insider South Africa, Errol admitted that, at one point, he literally made more money than he could physically handle. 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